The Flame That Crosses Dimensions
by Bluestar498
Summary: Upon request by Reborn and Nono, Giannini has created a new bazooka that can travel dimensions. Claiming it to be Tsuna's new training, Reborn sends him over to the world of Fairy Tail, where he must try to survive until a way to return can be made.
1. A New World

A/N: Hello everyone, I finally decided to write something for Fanfiction. XD My current obsession is Katekyo Hitman Reborn as well as Fairy Tail, so I decided to do a crossover of them. Plus there doesn't seem to be that many other ones, though it still has more than some. Anyways, this is my first attempt at a fanfic, so if I butcher their characterization, I apologize now, since I probably will. OTL And for anyone who's wondering, this takes place after the Shimon Arc but before the representative battles.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or Fairy Tail. Neither do I own any characters, ideas, or places and events associated with them. If I did, I think I can safely say they would have the most confusing plot ever, and epically fail. So, please, don't give me the rights.

Warnings: Mild swearing (*cough*Gokudera*cough*) and most likely EXTREME! characterization butchering.

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><p>"Reborn-san! The machine you have requested is finished." A stout man with a nearly baldhead came into the living room of the Sawada residence in his usual odd vehicle, holding what looked to be a silver Ten-year bazooka. The above-mentioned hitman glanced up from the espresso he had been drinking to look at the inventor, appraising eyes scouring the weapon.<p>

"However, may I ask why you would need this?" The man had only received orders from both Nono and Reborn himself to make a way to transport others to another dimension, with no reason given. He had a hunch that it was something to do with the poor Vongola Decimo though.

"Who knows?" Was the only response Reborn gave, before continuing on.

"Anyways, are you sure it will work?" He asked sceptically. After all the failures the inventor, Giannini, had made, he was slightly cautious about any weapon that was made entirely by him. The 22-year old technician however nodded his head, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Yes, Reborn-san! I have increased my skills since the future incident after seeing some of the designs I had come up with. I used some knowledge from the ten-year bazooka to make sure travel was safe, and Spanner and Shouichi helped with the concept design as well. This will successfully transport a certain target to that other dimension." He explained proudly, obviously proud of his work. Reborn tilted down his fedora, covering his eyes, but a smirk could be seen playing in his lips.

"Heh, is that so? You better get ready, Dame-Tsuna." He said, a menacing aura coming off from him. Giannini sweat dropped at the other's actions, and started silently praying for Tsuna's life.

"Tadaime!" A teenage boy with large brown eyes and untameable brunette hair called out as he stepped through the door. He paused and was slightly confused when he didn't hear the response his mother always gave him, but shrugged it off, dismissing it as her shopping. Removing his shoes, he walked through the small hallway and through the open arch into the living room, but froze up as he spotted Giannini and Reborn. He gulped quietly, his grip tightening on his school bag while his Hyper Intuition went crazy, practically screaming that something was going to happen soon.

"Um, h-hi Giannini-san. What b-brings you here?" He glanced over at Reborn, and it felt like he was surrounded in ice when he saw a smirk appear on the Arcobaleno's face.

"He's come to help with your training, Baka-Tsuna. Take care of yourself while your gone. And don't worry about Mama. I sent her and the kids on a 6-month cruise, so they'll never know you were gone." Was the only response Tsuna got, and he sweat-dropped at the last part, silently asking how long Reborn had been planning whatever this was. He was brought back to reality though when Giannini aimed a silver bazooka straight towards Tsuna.

"Sorry about this, Tenth." He apologized, as Tsuna took a step back.

"W-wait a minute. What exactly is that?"

"It's your new training." Reborn said, still smirking. Tsuna just stared at Reborn incredulously.

_What kind of training is this! _

He screamed in his head, and he mentally smacked himself as Reborn's smirk grew wider, completely forgetting that the infant could practically read minds. Suddenly Giannini pulled the trigger, and Tsuna glanced back towards him when a loud boom resounded from the weapon, seeming to come from everywhere and no-where at the same time. It was almost like slow motion as his eyes widened with the missile heading towards him, and before he could move a thick black smoke swamped his vision, and he swore he could catch a glimpse of Reborn still smirking through the smoke.

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><p>Coughing, he waited for the smoke to clear so he could see what happened to him, but suddenly he felt the ground disappear beneath him and he started falling.<p>

"HIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" He flailed his arms around as he let out his usual scream. He was currently falling through the sky, and below him lay a clearing surrounded by a sparse forest. He knew that if he didn't do something soon, he would be a splat on the ground. It took him all of 10 seconds to finally remember about his mittens, and he hurriedly pulled them on. Grabbing the case of pills, he was thankful he had just recently received a refill for it, so he didn't need to worry about running out. Quickly grabbing two of them, he swallowed, and soon his plummet down to Earth was halted as a flame flickered on his forehead, additional flames from his Vongola Gear supporting him in the air. Now sunset orange eyes glanced at the case, where a note from Reborn had been tapped on.

Dame-Tsuna,

I'm guessing if you're reading this you aren't dead. I'm surprised. If you slack on your training while I'm not there though, you will be when you get back. Anyways, your guardians may or may not be joining you in due time. Who knows? Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity fully. Not like you'll be back anytime soon, since Giannini forgot to make a return mechanism. Ah well, I'm sure he'll figure out something.

Ciao, Reborn

Tsuna sighed as he finished the message, which was totally typical of his Spartan tutor. Mentally facepalming, he just hoped that Giannini could produce another miracle. Not being one to litter, he ignited the note, and released it, watching as it turned into ash after a few feet of falling. Looking around, he had to wonder where he was. It was just a large forest around him, and what buildings he could see in the distance looked nothing like the ones in Namimori, or even Japan.

_Is it another time switch?_ He asked himself, before glancing down at the clearing below. He saw a huge cart loaded with tons of luggage parked in the center, and a tent was set up next to it. He spotted three figures moving around and…. Was that a blue cat? He raised his eyebrow at that, especially since it looked like on of the figures was talking to it like it was having a conversation. He mentally asked himself what kind of crazy place Reborn had sent him too this time, and really wished that he could strangle the infant. He sighed though, knowing Reborn would kill him a mile away if he even tried. Deciding to try his luck with the people, he began a decent down to the ground, and it looked like one of them looked up. He continued his decent as the other two heads looked up as well.

Now closer to the ground, he could make out their features better. The first one to spot him had been one of the two guys. He had spiky black hair, and for some reason had his shirt off, wearing brown pants for his bottoms and black shoes. The other guy apparently had pink hair that was also spiked, and he recognized him as the one who had been talking to the cat as far as he could tell. He was wearing an open black vest with yellow trim that also had a matching piece around his waist that went down to his knees, as well as a checked white scarf. His capris were white, the bottoms hugging his legs just below his knees and kept tight with black bands, and he had a black wristband on his left hand as well as sandals. The last human was a female with shoulder length blond hair where part of it was drawn into a side ponytail with a blue ribbon. She had a shirt with no sleeves that was white and had a blue cross on it, as well as a matching blue skirt and black high-heeled boots. And then there was the cat, which was blue with a white stomach carrying a green bag on it's back, and was walking on two legs. Tsuna was greatly confused by this, but dismissed it as a weird box weapon.

He froze however when he felt a menacing aura coming from the group, and watched as the cat suddenly grew white wings from its back and grabbed the pink-haired teen, who couldn't be older than 17 or 18. The duo rushed towards him, and he dodged swiftly, staring in shock at the flames covering the guy's hand.

_He isn't even wearing gloves! Since when was that possible? I thought only Xanxus had that ability!_

The teen spun around to face Tsuna again, a grin on his face.

"Oi, you're pretty good! Did the bandits send you here to take care of us after we ran them out of town?"

Tsuna got a confused look on his face.

_Since when did we still have bandits? Gangs and mafia groups, or the Yakuza sure, but bandits?_

He shook his head, knowing he could just ask the pink-haired teen about it later.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about. I wasn't sent here by anybody to harm you."

The kid snorted, and Tsuna's intuition told him that he wasn't going to be able to reason with his new opponent any time soon.

"Like I'll believe that!"

He shouted back, and lit his hands on fire again, getting ready to charge. Tsuna sighed, and also raised his fists. Looks like he wasn't going to be able to get out of this unscathed.

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><p>AN: And first chapter end! I hope I didn't seem to drone on to long, I just didn't want to make it too short. Looks like I did the opposite. OTL Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and please review. Constructive criticism is appreciated, and flames shall be eaten by Natsu. Oh, and please tell me which characters you want to be sent over. I'll probably either write it with only Tsuna having come, Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera, or Tsuna with all of his guardians. Thank you for taking the time to read my failed first chapter. *bows* I'll try to get the next chapter up soon.


	2. Hyper Dying Will vs Magic

A/N: Huzzah! Chapter 2! I really tried to make this one longer, and it came out to 7 and bit pages in word, or 3, 514 words. In the end, it's nearly three times as long as Chapter 1. OTL I think I made it too long… Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy chapter 2 of The Flame That Crosses Dimensions. And please let me know which guardians you want to be sent over! *bows*

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><p>Tsuna watched as the pink-haired teen charged forwards again, and he had to wonder how strong that cat was to be able to hold him up like this. He let out a burst of dying will flames as he neared, flying over to the side and quickly spun around. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his opponent, appraising the best way to take him out without seriously harming him as he continued to dodge the attacks.<p>

"Come on! Why don't you actually fight? Are you a coward or what?" The teen seemed pretty annoyed hat he couldn't hit Tsuna. The mafia boss smirked at the last line.

"More than you know…" He muttered under his breath, and then raised his voice. "Why should I? If you can't even hit me, what's the point in me bothering?"

The taunt seemed to have the desired affect, as the teen narrowed his eyes with the cat trying to calm him down. Tsuna blinked at this, wondering what box weapon could possibly talk. He shrugged though, pushing the thought to the back of his head and towards the teen again, sensing a change in the pressure around his flames. Tsuna stared at his enemy with appraising eyes as he charged, and he soon saw a trail forming behind the pink-haired boys fists.

"Wing slash of the fire dragon!" He yelled out, and brought his hands forwards, causing the flame trail to slash out in front of him. Tsuna launched upwards, but it seemed the teen was expecting that as the flames switched to his feet and he kicked upwards, flipping over backwards in mid-air.

"Talons of the fire dragon!" He cried, and Tsuna winced as the attack connected with his stomach, sending him back a bit. An arm curling over his stomach, he glanced up since his head was slightly bent to see the teen in front of him already, and a swift flaming punch sent him crashing into the ground.

He hit the ground hard, leaving a small crater around him from the force of the impact. He grimaced as he stood up, and could only imagine how many bruises were going to mare his skin tomorrow.

_At least I have a bit of the knowledge I wanted on how powerful he is. _He heard a laugh above him and saw the teen in the air still. He stopped laughing and grinned down at Tsuna, who frowned slightly.

_Does he really think he did that much damage?_

"Ready to fight now?" He yelled down, almost what seemed eagerly.

"Do you really like fighting that much?" Tsuna mumbled, shaking his head. He stood up straight, and lit his gloves fully on fire, making the flames easy to see. He glanced up, confused, when he saw the teens facial expression which looked shocked.

"Oi, what's with the face. It's not like your fists aren't covered in flames too. And without any gloves, too."

"Are you one of those fake dragon slayers like Laxus!" He suddenly yelled, and the brunette couldn't tell if he was angry or happy.

Tsuna looked at him, further confused.

_Since when did dragons exist! Does he mean that figuratively, or does he actually slay dragons?_

"I don't know what you're talking about." He yelled up to the opponent, who seemed angered by the response.

"I know you do! I'll just have to beat the answers out of you then!"

He said the whole sentence with a grin, and Tsuna was beginning to wonder if this was Reborn was in disguise or something.

"Wait, Natsu, calm down!" He glanced over to where the female had called out, and she seemed to freeze as he met her eyes. He turned his head back towards the pink-haired teen, deducing that he was probably this Natsu.

_Wow. Well, that's pretty interesting. He shares the same name as Natsu_(1)_._

"How can I calm down Lucy! I'm way to excited to do that!" He grinned again, and Tsuna frowned at that, not being one who liked violence.

_Guess the girl's Lucy then._ He thought, but was pulled out of them as Natsu landed on the ground a few feet away with the blue cat looking pretty tired.

"I'm all fired up." The teen stated, and looked pretty happy for a fight. Tsuna sighed, but decided that he should start fighting now. Using his X-Gloves version Vongola Gear, he quickly propelled himself forwards, and if Natsu's expression was anything to go by, he didn't think that Tsuna could move that fast. He raised his fist and slammed it forwards as he approached, but the pink-haired kid blocked his attack by catching it. Natsu smirked, leaning forwards slightly.

"I was right. You _are _strong."

Tsuna's eyes narrowed slightly, and he quickly spun around, freeing his hand from Natsu's grip and sending a kick forwards which was also blocked. Going through a battle strategy in his head, he dodged another attack from his opponent, sometimes blocking the attacks. He figured that the best way to defeat him would be to first immobilize him temporarily, and if needed, knock him out with a pressure point. But first he needed to slow Natsu down, which could work with a low level X-burner. Blasting himself back roughly 10 feet, Natsu gave him a confused look, and Tsuna raised his hands so his right one pointed backwards, and his left was in the front.

"Operation X" He muttered, and the female robotic voice answered back the response.

"Understood Master. X burner shooting guide system activated."

Natsu seemed to understand it was an attack, and immediately started to charge forwards. Thankful that he only needed 10% of his full X-Burner power, he figured he would a few seconds to spare before Natsu would have reached him. Fingers curled slightly, he released a blast of soft flames behind, and he watched as Natsu's eyes widened in confusion. He waited a total of 3 seconds to charge his power, and when the pink-haired teen was a few feet away, he unleashed his attack, a blast of hard flames coming from in front his left hand. He heard Lucy and the raven-haired teen call out Natsu's name as his attack hit him, but it was too late.

As his flames died out, the dirt that had been thrown up started to settle, and a silhouette was visible through the grit. As it settled a bit more, the top half of Natsu could be seen. He had a few burn marks on his body and was covered in scratches and bruises, but the damage wasn't too severe. As he panted, he glared at Tsuna who had lowered his hands.

"Why couldn't I eat your flames?" He yelled out, shocking the brunette with the statement.

_What is he talking about? You can't actually consume fire! _

Looking over to where Natsu's companions were, they to seemed shocked that he couldn't eat Tsuna's flames. He was really beginning to wonder if this was even the same world as his own. Turning back to Natsu, he realized that the teen was beginning to regain his strength so he had to hurry. Tsuna flew over to where Natsu was barely standing, and he caught the glare as he tried to move.

"Oi, what are you?" He growled out. The Vongola tenth boss blinked at the older teen calmly.

"I'm Dame-Tsuna." He replied, before grabbing Natsu's calves.

"Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition." He said, and soon ice trapped the pink- haired teens legs from his knees downwards, routing him to the ground.

"Hey, what is this! How can a fire mage use ice at the same time!" He snarled, looking at Tsuna who was equally bewildered.

"Mage? What are you talking about. Since when were dying will flames magic?" He asked, confused.

"Since when could people fight like that without using magic?" Natsu shot back. Tsuna just raised an eyebrow at that.

"I really don't get you…" He muttered.

"Ice make, cannon!" The call suddenly rang out and just as Tsuna dodged a solid ball of ice came shooting past. He turned around to see the other male standing there, holding an overly large cannon that looked to be made of… ice?

_What is with this place! _Tsuna silently yelled in his head.

"Oooiii! Gray! You hit me with that you know!" Tsuna turned back to where Natsu was frozen in place, and sure enough he had chunks of ice in his hair, and pieces littered the ground. It looked like the blast had hit his face directly.

"You should've dodged then, Flame-brain!" The now named Gray yelled back.

"What did you say, Squinty-eyes?" Natsu yelled back.

"You heard me!"

"I can't even move in case you haven't noticed!"

"Are you that weak?" Tsuna was beginning to feel like this was a routine for them as Gray yelled another insult back.

"My legs are frozen you jerk!" Natsu responded, and it seemed Gray just noticed, his eyes seeming to go unnaturally large.

"When did I do that?"

"You didn't, idiot! That kid over there did!"

"What? How could a flame mage use ice magic! Aren't you the idiot?" Gray snorted.

"I don't know how! Just ask him!" Natsu yelled back, seeming to be quite annoyed. Tsuna sweat dropped as they continued arguing, until Gray finally turned his attention back to the brunette.

"Oi, kid! How did you use flame magic _and _ice magic."

"I didn't use any magic at all." Was Tsuna's only response to that. It seemed to annoy Gray, as his eyebrow twitched.

"Hey, don't screw with me. How else could you have attacked like that if you didn't use magic?"

"Why don't you figure it out on your own?" Tsuna responded with a shrug, smirking, all the while thinking that Reborn was starting to affect his own personality.

"You bastard…" Gray growled out, and he clasped his hands together, frost coming off from them.

"Ice make, arrow!" He yelled out, a large bow forming in his hands with three arrows already loaded, all made out of ice. Tsuna raised a brow at this, but quickly had to dodge as the attack was sent flying towards him. He hissed slightly as one of the arrows grazed his arm, leaving a long cut on it and tearing the white sleeve of his school uniform. He soon realized that unlike Natsu, Gray seemed to be fighting at a distance rather than rushing in headfirst.

As the two had a stand off, a sudden cry broke through the air, and Tsuna looked upwards, his eyes widening in shock as a familiar orange pelt was pelting down through the sky.

"Natsu?" Tsuna inquired questionably.

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><p>"GAAAAAOOOOO!" The lion cub let out a terrified roar as him fell. He had been resting on Tsuna's bed, when suddenly a black smoke had enveloped him, and next thing he knew he was 10 miles in the air and falling. The cub let out another cry, and closed his eyes in terror.<p>

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><p>"What the heck is that?" Gray yelled in surprise as a bundle of gold was falling. His sudden call broke Tsuna out of his shocked state at seeing his companion falling. He quickly shot up, flying over to catch the cub before it hit the ground.<p>

"Natsu!" He yelled, and saw his box weapon open terror filled eyes that soon flooded with relief at seeing his master.

"Gao~!" He cried happily, momentarily forgetting his predicament. Racing underneath the cub, Tsuna slowed Natsu's descent before stopping, and the cub happily licked his face, drawing out a laugh from the brunette who now hovered roughly 4 feet above the ground.

"Stop it, Natsu!" He said warmly, and let the cub climb onto his shoulder. Turning around, the warmth that had been in his eyes left when his eyes met Gray's. Sensing that he was an enemy, the cub growled, his eyes narrowing as all forms of playfulness left his body.

"What the heck is that, kid? Can you use summoning magic too?" Gray cried out. This was just insane. How many powers did this kid have?

"I don't know why you keep on going on about this magic, but I don't use any." Tsuna said it like it should be obvious, pissing off Gray.

"Why, you…" He growled out. He was about to attack again, but suddenly Tsuna was in front of him.

"Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition!" He called out, and Gray looked down at his hands to see both of them frozen. He tried breaking them with his own magic from within, but there wasn't even a crack, and it was the same result even when smashing them on the ground.

"What the hell did you do?" He growled, and began lashing out at Tsuna, who dodged quickly with Natsu still clinging onto his shoulder, knowing that a hit from one of the frozen fists could easily knock him out. Listening to his hyper intuition, he located the pressure point on Gray's neck. Reaching out his hand, he was about to swing it down and hit the knockout point when a female voice suddenly cut through the air.

"Stop!"

Tsuna's hand froze a few centimetres away from its target as soon as he heard the sudden cry, and Gray also stopped his attempts to hit the young Vongola heir. Turning his head around, Tsuna saw the call came from the blond, Lucy, if he remembered correctly. Appraising eyes looked at her, and he sensed no intentions of attack from her as far as he could tell. It seemed that Gray had finally noticed where Tsuna's hand was, as he had stopped moving; probably thinking that if he did Tsuna would resume the attack. Taking a cautious glance at the raven-haired teen, he lowered his hand and stepped out of the immediate range of Gray's attacks at the moment. Judging by the expression on the ice users face, he could assume that he hadn't really expected him to stop. Tsuna looked back at Lucy, who still looked calm and unaggressive, which was the complete opposite of her companions.

"You know, shouldn't you be attacking me or something? They did, after all."

He indicated Natsu and Gray with a jerk of his thumb, and he could have sworn he heard Natsu yell something about not grouping him together with squinty eyes. He shook his head in wonder at the fact that despite his current situation, Natsu still seemed pretty hyper or excited about something.

"Why would I attack someone who's not an enemy?"

Lucy's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see her smiling. He let out a sigh of relief that one of them knew he wasn't trying to hurt, and that he didn't have to keep fighting. He had actually been getting tired from the two separate fights, and Natsu nudged his cheek, letting out a small, "Gao?" in worry. He smiled back at the cub and rubbed his head reassuringly, which he let out a soft purr at.

Deciding that things had calmed down enough that the two males wouldn't attack him again, Tsuna turned back towards Gray who had been warily watching him. He started walking towards the teen, who glowered at him and tensed slightly, as if expecting to have to fight again.

"I'm not going to hurt you. As your friend already said, I'm not an enemy. If I was, I would have continued and hit your pressure point, or at least fought for real."

This speech seemed to only annoy the mage as he was now outright glaring at Tsuna. He sighed but didn't stop walking until he was in front of Gray who was now growling lightly at him.

Placing both hands on top of one of Gray's frozen ones, he let out a small stream of dying will flames, effectively thawing the ice and repeating the action for the other one. After he was done, the older teen continued to glare at him, but Tsuna just turned and headed over to Natsu, knowing not to antagonize Gray any further. Natsu was still struggling to free his legs, and surprisingly had broken the ice a little bit, which Tsuna had to wonder how. The only thing to break out his ice had been those Gola Mosca's, and that was through sending dying will flames at it.

Reaching the fire mage, he crouched down in front of him and thawed the ice that trapped Natsu's legs in place, standing up once he was done. His box weapon affectionately nuzzled his master again and Tsuna smiled, now able to relax knowing the onslaught of attacks had finished. He closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh as he extinguished the flames on his forehead, and opened his now brown eyes again, seeming to surprise Natsu with the sudden change. Tsuna rubbed his head sheepishly, letting out a nervous laugh at the stares all three older teens gave as they witnessed his entire demeanour change.

He let out a short yelp when Natsu suddenly grabbed his arm and began dragging him towards Lucy and Gray who were walking back to their camp, a grin on his face as he broke into a jog. Tsuna had to run to keep up with the older male and he swallowed nervously, beginning to wonder how he could possibly explain his situation to them when even he didn't know what had happened.

_Argh! I really hate you Reborn._

He growled lightly in his mind and began thinking up any possible way to get back at his tutor, though every single situation ended with him being tortured by Reborn and making his training twice as bad. He let out a sigh, and decided to just let things run their course.

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><p>Elsewhere, the world greatest hitman sneezed suddenly, causing Giannini to glance up temporarily from his work on a return device before he turned back to it. Reborn rubbed his nose slightly, and smirked.<p>

_Seems that Dame-Tsuna is already cursing me. _He thought with a sadistic gleam in his eyes, and the nearby inventor couldn't help but shudder at the aura the infant was releasing. He yet again began his silent prayers for his boss's life once he returned.

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><p>(1) I go with Tsuna's box weapons name being Natsu like in the anime, instead of the manga one, Nuts.<p>

A/N: Apparently Reborn's sadistic side still takes pleasure in torturing Tsuna even when he's in a different dimension. XD I'm sorry if it was confusing with having two characters named Natsu. I know that the manga translation has Nuts written down as do many fan fictions, but the anime definitely said Natsu and so does KHR wiki. But I think I'll have Tsuna change Natsu's name to Nuts soon, because it would be pretty confusing even for them I would think. ^^' Anyways, please review and constructive criticism, and thank you to the person who reviewed and the one who alerted this story. I didn't expect to get feed back this soon, and it really motivates me! I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have quite a few mistakes or overused words in this. OTL And don't forget to please say who you want sent over, or if I should just leave it with Tsuna. Thank you for reading thus far. *bows* I'll try to get chapter three out soon.


	3. Explanations and Discoveries

A/N: And chapter three is up! I apologize ahead of time that this chapter is probably going to be pretty boring, since it's mainly Tsuna explaining things. But it will pick up next chapter, and soon I can get to the plan that I have definitely made already. *coughnotcough* Anyways, thanks for reading thus far, as well as all the reviews, favourites, and alerts. As requested by one of the reviewers, I'll just leave it as Tsuna right now, though I may end up sending a guardian or two over later. Right about now they're my escape plan from writers block. OTL Anyways, I hope you'll somewhat enjoy Chapter 3 of the Flame That Crosses Dimensions.

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><p>Tsuna and Natsu reached the camp quickly as the older teen had broken into a run after a few steps, forcing Tsuna into a sprint to compensate for his shorter legs. Lucy and Gray were sitting on the ground beside the huge luggage cart and the tent, talking to each other. Natsu was still grinning, standing in front of his two companions while Tsuna was bent over beside him, panting lightly, as he had ended his battle with Natsu pretty far from the camp. Lucy gave him a warm smile which he returned, but Gray's glare made him freeze up again, and wonder if he should have stayed in hyper dying will mode, though he had to admit he had been reaching his limit.<p>

His box weapon and the odd blue cat seemed to be getting along with each other, though the cat was trying to talk while Na-tsu (1) just kept letting out his little 'Gao' sounds.

"You can sit down if you want. Gray and Natsu aren't going to attack you again."

Tsuna looked back over to where Lucy had spoken, and he nodded hesitantly as he slowly sat down, his breathing back to a normal pace again. Natsu walked over and sat beside Lucy, so all three older teens now faced him as he began fidgeting nervously. Surprisingly enough, it was Gray who broke the silence.

"Oi, Lucy. Why did you say he wasn't an enemy? I mean, sure he's friendly now, but before..." He growled slightly, and Tsuna really hoped that he was only like this towards people he thought would threaten him.

_He reminds me of Gokudera before I saved him._ He thought silently, and couldn't help but chuckle quietly as he wondered what his storm guardian was doing right now. He guessed he'd be panicking right about now.

"Oi, what's so funny kid?" Gray asked angrily, and Tsuna snapped his head up, waving his hands in front of him.

"N-Nothing! I-I was just t-thinking about something!"

He cursed his stuttering as his timid self showed through, and the raven-haired teen raised his eyebrow at the new personality, before turning back to Lucy for her answer.

"You couldn't tell? In case you hadn't noticed, we were the ones who attacked him. When Natsu first started out, all he did was dodge. It came off looking like a taunt, but I think he just didn't want to hurt him. When he actually started fighting, his punches seemed to be held back as well, and he ended the battle by freezing Natsu's legs, not knocking him unconscious or anything like a normal enemy would do. And when he fought you, he only froze your hands so you couldn't use your magic anymore and dodged your attacks."

"Yeah, all that may be true, but he was about to hit my neck when you yelled stop!"

Tsuna opted at this point to speak up.

"A-ano (2), I was only going to hit your pressure point to k-knock you unconscious. I w-wasn't going to really harm you. The worst it c-could do is give you a dull ache."

Gray glared at him as he spoke up, but it didn't seem as harsh since his actions were explained. Still feeling nervous under the look, Tsuna looked elsewhere, his eyes traveled elsewhere and over to where Na-tsu was, and saw that the lion cub seemed awkward and timid like he usually was out of the battle as the blue cat continued talking to him. Seeing his master looking over at him, he quickly ran over and buried his head into Tsuna's side.

"Hey, N-Na-tsu. I don't think the cat's going to hurt you."

"Gao…"

Tsuna sighed as the muffled meow came from the small lion, and he scratched Na-tsu's head lightly in reassurance. He looked up to see the three other teens staring at him, and he blushed lightly as he let out an awkward laugh.

"H-he's kind of a coward outside of battle. There's really only been one person he got along with immediately." He offered in explanation.

"He has the same name as me!" Natsu suddenly said enthusiastically. Tsuna blinked and looked at the cub, which seemed a bit more relaxed now.

"Y-Yeah. I think the name really fits him though. If I tried to change it, he would probably just ignore me," He said with a small smile, and Na-tsu nodded his head in agreement. A small awkward silence fell between the four of them, and Tsuna glance at the cat.

"Is he a box weapon?" He asked suddenly, startling the others out of their thoughts.

"I'm Happy! What's a box weapon? Is it some kind of fish?" Happy questioned, as Tsuna let out an awkward laugh at the last line.

_How did he get fish from box weapon? _He silently yelled in his head.

"I think we should save the explanations until Erza gets back." Lucy cut in before Tsuna could reply, and he could've sworn he saw Natsu and Gray shudder at the name.

"E-Erza?" He asked nervously, beginning to dread this person's return.

"Yeah, she's the last person on our team, and is getting fire wood right now. I don't think it would be a good idea to leave her out…" Lucy trailed, off and Tsuna felt another shudder run up his spine.

_Hiiieee! Who is this person?_ He mentally freaked out as Na-tsu tried to comfort him by licking his finger, which helped slightly, but he still dreaded her return.

* * *

><p>The brunette wasn't too sure how long they had been sitting in silence, lost in their thoughts. Wait, scratch that. He winced slightly as he heard a branch crack off of a tree in the direction of where Natsu and Happy had gone, getting bored after a minute of silence.<p>

What he guessed to be twenty minutes since they had stopped talking, Natsu and Happy walked back, and Tsuna turned to look at them, spotting another person behind them. She had straight red hair that reached to roughly her waist, and her outfit mainly consisted of armour, with the main piece on her torso. She had metal gauntlets that reached her elbows, and he could see some brown cloth pulled up slightly higher than them. Like Lucy she had black boots and a blue skirt, but the skirt was longer and her boots had no heels. He suspected that this was probably the Erza person Lucy was talking about.

"Erza's back," Natsu said happily, and he confirmed Tsuna's thoughts.

"We can see that, fire head," Gray snorted in response, and Natsu sent a death glare his way.

"Oi, shut up pervert exhibitionist." He growled back.

"What did you call me, Pinkie?"

"You heard me, ice brain."

At this point they had their foreheads pressed together and Tsuna could swear they were trying to kill each other with looks as the glared darkly at each other.

"NATSU! GRAY! Are you guys fighting again?"

Tsuna jumped slightly when Erza yelled, and felt sorry for the two guys. He looked to where the two of them were now, and ended up falling anime style as they both had an arm around the other's shoulders and a very strained smile on.

"N-not at all, Erza! Just a friendly teasing, right Natsu?"

"Aye!" Was the only reply the fire mage gave out and as he heard Lucy give out a sigh, he wondered how often this happened.

"That's good. Friends shouldn't argue with each other, though it does sometimes happen," Was Erza's reply, and he stared at her as a small smile graced her face.

_She honestly believes this act?_ He asked incredulously in his head, but it seemed Erza noticed the boy now, as he had her full attention, unfortunately for him.

"Who's this?" She asked, and Tsuna let out a small squeak, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow him. Again.

"Ah, we don't actually know. After Natsu and Gray attacked him and finally calmed down, we waited for you to get back before we did anything." Lucy offered in explanation, but froze s a dark aura came off of Erza.

"They attacked him? Both of them attacked a kid at five years younger than them?" She darkly muttered. Tsuna sweat dropped at the last line, wondering how young Erza thought he was.

"Well, not exactly at the same time. More like one after another." Lucy hurriedly answered Erza's question so as not to anger the redhead more, but it seemed pointless, and if anything only made it worse.

"Natsu… Gray…"

The two males mentioned were now shivering and unconsciously clinging to each other.

"You… morons!" She yelled, and suddenly a sword appeared in her hand with a burst of light as she slammed the hilt down on their heads. The two groaned and held the offended body part in pain, and Erza seemed satisfied as the sword disappeared again as she sat down beside Lucy, letting out a sigh before giving a small smile to Tsuna, who was trying to figure out if Reborn or Erza was scarier. Reborn still won.

Lucy gave an awkward laugh as Gray and Natsu sat on the side of Lucy that did not include a certain redhead.

"Um… I suppose we should start with introductions..." Lucy suggested.

Erza decided to begin, and Tsuna opted not to point out that he had figured out their names already.

"I'm Erza Scarlet, 19 years old."

"Lucy Heartfillia, 17 years old."

Lucy finished with a kind smile, and looking over to Gray, Tsuna was surprised that the black haired teen was no longer glaring at him.

"Gray Fullbuster, 17."

"Happy, 6 years old, and an Exceed!"

The brunette was fairly certain at his point that the cat was treated the same as any other human, and made a mental not to himself to treat Happy like so, though he was slightly curious as to what an Exceed was.

"Natsu Dragneel, roughly their age."

Tsuna had to wonder how Natsu could possibly not know his own age, but realized that the others were waiting for him to introduce himself.

"A-ah, nice to meet you all. This is Na-tsu, my partner." He pointed to the forgotten cub that sat beside him, still a bit scared of all the new people, and Erza raised an eyebrow at the similarity between the fire mages and the lion's names.

"And I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, 14 years old, but please just call me Tsuna."

He gave himself a mental pat on the back for not stuttering, but noticed that Natsu's, Erza's, and Happy's faces looked shocked, their mouths almost looking like triangles as they hung open.

"A-ano, did I s-say something weird?" He asked, confused by their faces.

"You're fourteen? You look more like you're twelve!" Natsu said bluntly, earning him another hit to the head from a random weapon by Erza, and Tsuna wondered how she did that without any boxes or even any rings, not that they really existed until a few years later.

"Hahaha…" He let out a nervous laugh, but inwardly was trying to figure out how he could possibly still look twelve.

"Anyways, what town are you from?"

Lucy's voice broke him out his thoughts, and he looked over to her.

"I'm from Namimori."

Blank looks.

"In Japan?"

Still blank.

"Close to China."

He could wear these guys lived under a rock, since they didn't recognize any of the places. He decided to see if they knew any of the major countries and places.

'You know, Asia? Close to Russia? France? Canada? The United States of America? Italy?"

The others still looked at him weirdly, and he could feel himself getting dizzy from his hyperventilating.

_Okay. No big deal. So what if they don't recognize a single one of the biggest countries on Earth? I mean, it's not like I'm on a different plan-_

His thoughts froze at the last thought, and suddenly everything clicked. The whole talking blue cat thing, the fire and ice attacks, all the talk about different kinds of magic, the not knowing something any five year old in his neighbourhood could know.

Reborn had transported him to a different world. Maybe a different dimension for all knew.

"Hiieee!"

His sudden scream startled everyone nearby him, and he figured that right about now they thought he had gone insane. Which he would have been true by now, if not for that fact that he knew Reborn would just beat him back to sanity and drag him back for more Spartan training regardless.

"O-oi, kid, Tsuna. Are you alright?"

Gray's hesitant voice broke him out of his dark mutterings, where the only words the others could make out were 'home tutor', 'murder', 'insane', 'spartan', and a few others along those lines.

"I-I guess?" He managed to stutter out. He gulped, and really hoped that the others would believe his insane story.

"I-it's just, I t-think my home tutor s-sent me to a different world, o-or in other w-words, this one."

They others stared at Tsuna as a silence fell between him, and he fidgeted nervously under their gazes. Suddenly laughter broke out among them, and he watched helplessly as they seemed to think that it was all a joke.

"Hahaha, what are talking about, Tsuna? The only time that's ever happened was when we went to a parallel dimension, Edolas, and that left behind a huge mess in the area," Lucy managed to get out, a few tears forming in her eyes from laughing to hard.

Tsuna shuttered at the mention of parallel worlds, and immediately it brought up an image of a certain marshmallow crazed mafia boss.

"A-ah, please don't mention parallel worlds. It brings back some pretty bad memories. As well as thoughts on marshmallows."

The others sweat dropped at the last part, and had to wonder what those two things could possibly have to do with each other.

"A-anyways, I'm not joking! And it's a different world entirely, not a parallel one."

"Tsuna, what kind of home tutor would do that? And how is that even possible? Do you even have proof that you're from another world?" Gray asked as he glared at Tsuna warily, who almost laughed at the first part.

"Trust me when I say that my tutor is probably enjoying thinking of how much I must be suffering right now. That kind of tutor would love to their student to a different world."

The others really pitied the kid now and wondered how harsh one tutor could possibly be, before Tsuna continued on.

"I also have three, erm, friends, who are absolute genius inventors as well, so between the three of them, they could probably think up something like this. As for proof, does not knowing a single thing about magic count? Or my powers?"

The others went into deep thought at that, since his attacks really didn't seem that much like magic, plus wizards could only use one type.

"Hey, Tsuna."

The mentioned brunette looked over to where Erza had spoken.

"Can I see your powers?"

"S-sure, Erza-san."

He pulled out his mittens again and pulled them on, before opening the pill case and letting two roll into his palm. Pocketing the case again, he swallowed the pills and the usual V-shaped flame flared up on his forehead again as he entered his hyper dying will mode. Light orange, half lidded eyes blinked calmly and his mittens had turned into the red gloves he had obtained in order to save Enma. He spotted Natsu out of the corner of his eye as he laughed, grinning.

"Your personality completely changes when you swallow those pills! What kind of magic is that?"

"It isn't magic, as I've already stated. Where I come from, magic is only exists in fiction. We don't have anything like that back home."

The others looked completely surprised at that.

"How can you function without magic?" Gray asked, and it seem all hostilities had dropped, much to Tsuna's relief.

"Same way anyone here can function without magic. We use machines for most things though."

The others nodded at that, and were relieved to know that it was possible to live without magic, as it meant that Edolas had probably found a way to survive without magic.

"Then I have a question, Tsuna. What do you use to attack then, if isn't magic?"

Tsuna looked back towards Lucy, who seemed eager to find out.

"I use what's called dying will flames. My tutor used to shoot me in the head with a dying will bullet that sent me into a state called dying will mode. It basically kills you, then brings you back to life in what I guess you could describe as a rage, and you use it to fulfill a regret you had before dying. The downside to it was I acted like a mad man whenever that happened, and it had tendency to burn up my T-shirt and pants."

The others looked absolutely shocked when they heard that his tutor had 'killed' him how many times, but sweat dropped at the last part.

"But right about now, you're completely calm, and with clothes intact I might add. We don't need another Gray."

Gray growled darkly as Lucy added the last part, but turned back to Tsuna when he began talking again.

"Ah, that. My tutor also has a shape shifting chameleon called Leon, and a while before I faced a life or death situation, he lost control over what he could turn into, eventually just settling on a blob. When I was really in danger and about to die, he came up with a new weapon, which was a downgraded version of my current gloves, and the hyper dying will mode bullet. The bullet drew out a calmer side of my dying will flame, and was twice as powerful. Not to mention I can still think and function, unlike the normal one. Eventually I got these dying will pills from a friend, and taking two puts me into hyper dying will form. A lot of stuff happened as well, which is why my gloves look like this now, instead of their original versions."

As he finished explaining, his hyper dying will flame mode ended, and his gloves turned back into their usual white mitten form, the familiar red 27 on the backs and he placed them back into his pocket.

"Wow, that's a pretty awesome tutor. But what do you do that requires a kid like you to face life or death situations and need to fight so much?"

Surprisingly enough, it was Natsu who had asked the question. Tsuna hesitated in giving an answer though. He didn't know how the others would react to news about him being in the mafia. But then again, he doubted they even had mafia.

"Um, well…." He started, but suddenly cried out as a rock hit him on the head. Holding it in pain, he glanced at the offending lump of earth to see a note attached, and had a hunch on who it was from as he unfolded it with one hand.

_Oh, I forgot to tell you. Don't tell anyone you're in the mafia, like usual. They probably don't have it anyways, but it might be trouble if they do._

_Reborn_

Tsuna sighed at the note, but then had to wonder how the hell Reborn was able to know that he was talking about the subject, or even how he got the rock to land perfectly on his head. He ended up deciding that he would probably rather not know.

Just as he was about to tear up the note though, it was suddenly snatched from his hands. He looked up to see Happy holding it in the air above him, as he read the note aloud.

"I forgot to tell you. Don't tell anyone you're in the… the…. Mayfa? They probably don't have it anyways, but it might be trouble if they do. Reborn. What's a Mayfa? Is it a guild? Or something to do with fish?"

Tsuna sweat dropped as Happy yet again made a reference to fish, before Lucy grabbed the note from him and quickly scanned it.

"It's pronounced mafia Happy, not Mayfa, or whatever you said. But what is the mafia? This Reborn person makes it sound like its pretty bad."

"It's not associated with any dark guild, is it?" Erza growled out, staring at Tsuna who was slightly trembling.

"U-um, i-it's not associated w-with a d-dark guild or anything, wha-whatever that is. M-mafia is… w-well… um…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish. The others seemed anxious though, and he got the feeling he wasn't going to be able to avoid this. The only one oblivious to the situation was Happy, who seemed to be muttering about Mayfa fish. Tsuna couldn't help but mentally facepalm at the cat's simple mindedness.

"Tsuna, what are you associated in? I get the feeling that this 'mafia' is the reason you have to fight so much, am I right?"

He flinched, but nodded. Even if he tried to lie he knew they would see through it, what with his terrible lying skills.

"Well… from where I come from, a lot of p-people see the mafia as bad news, especially if you're associated someway with it. Um… I'm really bad at explaining this…"

He let out a shaky breath, and decided his calm self would be better at this. He took out the pills quickly and swallowed two, soon calming down, though he had to admit that it felt pretty weird without his gloves on. He continued on in a more confident voice, words coming easier now.

"'Mafia', basically, is a term used for multiple groups, or as we call them, Famiglia, which is Italian for family. There are many corrupt Famiglia out there, and the typical picture people get when they think of the mafia is pretty bad. People imagine all of us wearing black suites, carrying around guns, and killing without a second thought. I'm not denying it, since in some cases those assumptions are right."

At this point, everyone's eyes had gone wide in shock, wondering how this small kid could possibly be associated with this 'mafia'.

"Mafia also has lots of political power, and in some areas might even run the town that they're in. The one I belong too, the Vongola, was one of these Famiglia's back when it was made roughly 400 years ago. However, our group didn't start out as mafia. Primo, the founder, had created it to protect the their town from bandits, where even the police and politicians were corrupted. They only joined the mafia later. Secondo, or the second boss, as well as one of Primo's guardians, betrayed Primo though, and with his rule the Vongola turned into a corrupt mafia group. Out of every single one, the Vongola has the bloodiest and worst history, as well as also being the most powerful group right now. I'm in line to become the tenth generation boss right now, which is why I have to fight so much. My home tutor, Reborn, is a hitman sent to train me for the position."

The others were still shocked, but were also slightly wary of Tsuna now, since for all they knew he had killed someone before, and was just as ruthless as the other bosses.

"I'm not like the previous generations." He suddenly said, as if reading their thoughts.

"One of the main reasons besides my bloodline that they choose me, the failure in life, to be a boss, is because of my morals. With my ruling, Vongola is set to change back to the way Primo had run it, and the reason it was made. To protect the people. Though I can't erase the Vongola's past, I can make its future better. That's the basic run down of the mafia and my association with it, albeit it being an unwilling one." He finished with a shrug. Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy were, as Ryohei would put it, EXTREMELY shocked. This kid in front of them was going to change the most powerful mafia group out there? If Gray, Natsu, and Lucy hadn't seen Tsuna's power themselves, they wouldn't have believed it. Erza choose to believe that Tsuna was telling the truth since her comrades believed it, but she had a question.

"Tsuna, I know this may be rude to ask, but have you actually killed anyone by your own hands."

His expression was absolutely shocked at the question, but he thought about the answer. He had been certain that he had killed Byakuran with his X Burner, but when they were fighting with Shimon, Yamamoto showed up almost completely fine, and was pretty sure Byakuran was the one to heal his wounds.

"I don't know," He answered truthfully, and Erza waited for him to elaborate.

"There was one person. He had targeted the entire Vongola, and had massacred over half of the entire organization, as well as innocent people who had any connections to those members at all. In the final battle I thought that I had killed him, since if I didn't, he was going to destroy the world with his powers. But, when one of my friends was seriously injured, he suddenly appeared with almost all his wounds completely healed. Though he wasn't certain, he was pretty sure that it was this same man who had healed him. We don't know for sure though."

Erza nodded, but a serious glint was still in her eyes.

"So you had to kill this man to protect those close to you?"

"Yes. I wouldn't kill any other way, unless it was to protect my comrades and friends." He stated seriously.

Erza smiled at him then, as did the others, and he gave them confused looks.

"Then you're one of the good guys." Lucy said, sounding relieved.

"Even if you have killed, if it's to protect your friends, then it was for the better. It's best to avoid all deaths, but if that isn't possible, then even the purest soul could be driven to kill someone to protect others." Erza elaborated for Lucy, and Tsuna blinked, before he smiled.

"Well, good to know I'm in your good book. I don't think I could take on all of you," He sighed his response, and since explanations were done, he went back to normal again, his eyes turning back into their usual wide, chocolate brown form as his flame extinguished.

"Tsuna, do you know how to get home?" Lucy suddenly asked.

Tsuna laughed nervously at the mention of returning to Namimori.

"Umm, apparently they forgot to make something for that, but the Vongola technician, Giannini, should be working on something right now, so I'm basically stuck here until he finishes. Though that might be a while, since he isn't too skilled. I just hope he gets the two other technicians I know, Irie and Spanner-san, to help him." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he admitted how useless his technician was, but noticed the grin that soon grew on Natsu's face.

"Tsuna! Come and join Fairy Tail then!" He grinned, and the others nodded in agreement.

All Tsuna could say was a clueless, "Eh?"

* * *

><p>(1) As a reviewer suggested, I have made Tsuna's box weapon name spelt Na-tsu, while the Fairy Tail wizard is Natsu. I had been righting it as Nuts for a while, but it just seemed wrong to me, and plus the new manga chapters are saying Natsu as well, so yeah. Hopefully you're able to tell the difference.<p>

(2) Ano: Umm in Japanese.

A/N: Done. _ _ I'm sorry that this chapter is so boring, but I couldn't really imagine the Fairy Tail gang to just be like, "Oh, you're a complete stranger that we know nothing about? Hey, why don't you come and join Fairy Tail with your insane fighting powers that a 14 year old randomly has?" …Yeah, I was pretty sure that Tsuna would have to explain at least his powers, and of course he didn't realize that the others would probably ask why he would need to fight like this, so I ended up writing about it with an end word count of 5,234. I'm sorry I made this way to long. _ If you guys really want, I can try to cut down on the chapter to make it simpler, but I'm not sure where. OTL Anyways, I'll try to make the next chapter more exciting! *bows* Please review and leave constructive criticism, and thank you to all who have favourited, reviewed, and alerted this story. It's nice to know that my writing skills don't epically fail, for the most part. ^^' Ciao!


	4. Unexpected Guests and a Rowdy Guild

A/N: Sorry this took me a while to get out, but at least it's pretty long, being 7,577 words long. ^^' I was having a few issues trying to get the right wording, and I needed to look up outfits, names, and layouts as well. OTL I hope you'll enjoy this chapter though, but I warn you my grammar might be a bit bad in this one due to sheer volume (and laziness). I decided to reply to reviews here, instead of messaging everyone since I have anonymous reviewers as well:

LovingSky: Thank you for reviewing! It's nice to know I can make a person cool while he's talking. XD

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: I'm glad you're enjoying how the story is progressing, and think the way Tsuna arrived is interesting. :3

La signora Della Grande Cielo: I'm happy to know you didn't find chapter 3 too boring or long. And I think I can relate to the inner bookworm loving longer chapters. X3 the real poison ivy: I'm glad you like the story. ^^ I'll see about adding more KHR characters!

Anime-VGsUltimate00: You're review made me laugh quite a bit. XD It's always fun when Reborn is there to torment everything we say. And I don't think that your review was too long. :3 It's nice to know Reborn's so certain that he'll always win. :p

XxCondorxX: I'm happy that you managed to find some humour in chapter 3, and it wasn't until later that I thought he probably should have had some secrets. But not everyone is going to know about the whole mafia thing, so it'll be secret from most of the other characters at least. ^^'

FairyTailKHR fanatic 101: One word: Thank you. ^^ Wait, that's two… thankyou. X3

I hope you'll enjoy the chapter. -w-

* * *

><p>Sunlight filtered through the light screen of the tent, causing Tsuna to raise his hand over his eyes as a direct beam shone in his face, waking him up. He blinked his eyes open and looked around in confusion as he lowered his hand. Looking over, he nearly let out a cry of surprise when he saw other people sleeping, before he remembered yesterday's events, effectively calming him down.<p>

Natsu had asked him to join Fairy Tail, which he of course asked what it was, but the only response he got from the others was, "We'll tell you once you get there."

Since his explanations had taken so long, the sun had begun to set and they offered to let him stay the night, which he gratefully took, having no idea how to camp out with no equipment.

He sat up and rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes as they quickly adjusted to the bright light. Looking over, he saw that Lucy and Erza were already gone, while Gray, Natsu, and Happy were still asleep, the two teens snoring loudly.

He felt a pressure on his legs and looked down to see Na-tsu stretching on top of them, evidently having slept there. He scratched behind his ears a few times in greeting, before picking the lion cub up as he made for the exit of the tent.

Miraculously, he exited without tripping and put the still sleepy lion on the ground, where he stretched again and yawned.

"Ohaio, Tsuna."

The brunette looked up to see Lucy waving at him, apparently making breakfast.

"Ah, o-ohaio, Lucy," He greeted back with a sheepish smile, which she returned with a warm one. He walked over to where she was to see what she was making, and saw her preparing fish on a small cutting board.

"Anything I can help with?" He asked, and she smiled, shaking her head.

"Not really. Erza is getting some more food, and we only have the fish right now to work with. Unless you could make fire for Natsu maybe?"

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask. Why was he talking about eating fire yesterday? When I fought him, I mean."

"Natsu was actually raised by a dragon, and he was taught dragon slayer magic. That's one of the abilities they have; they can eat their own element. We also have a steel dragon slayer in our guild, so he can eat steel."

Tsuna was pretty shocked at the fact that they had dragons, but more so at the news that people could be raised by them.

"Wait, why would a dragon teach them magic to slay a dragon?" He asked, confused.

"I asked him the same thing, and he really had no idea. He hadn't even thought of it before then," She laughed, and Tsuna couldn't help but join in.

"So it's just fire he eats? Nothing special about it?"

"Well, you can make different kinds of food out fire, but just a normal one would make him happy."

The brunette nodded in acknowledgement.

"I think I can make fire with my dying will flames, though I haven't tried it before."

"Well, you can test it out then," She replied with a smile, and he nodded. He got out his pills and swallowed two, going into hyper dying will mode as his gloves changed into their red form and the band around his thigh appeared again. Lucy handed him a long piece of wood with cloth wrapped around the end, evidently a torch she had just made. He kept the flame out on his left hand which gripped the wood, and released a flame directly onto the torch, which sparked to life a few seconds later, soon engulfing the cloth in a bright, regular flame, rather than a dying will one. The brunette blinked in surprise that the flames actually changed when not fuelled by him, but made a note to be wary when using his gloves since evidently they could set things on fire.

"I guess you can make fire." Lucy smiled, and Tsuna nodded as he staked the torch into the ground.

"How much fire does Natsu normally eat?" Tsuna asked.

"I think three torches should be fine. Though I guess you can always make more if he asks."

Tsuna nodded, and soon lit the two other torches they made, setting them in the ground beside the first one. He waited a few minutes and soon Lucy had finished getting the fish ready to cook, and he lit the campfire as well, before sitting down to wait, still in hyper dying will mode.

Within five minutes smells from the food were rising in the air, which brought Happy out of the tent in a flash and he was now staring at the meal, waiting for it to be finished politely before he began eating his own raw fish. Erza had returned by now with a few vegetables she had found in the forest, and those were added to the pan the fish were cooking in. Soon everything was done, and Tsuna went to wake Gray and Natsu up, who evidently slept a lot, having to hit them on the head to get them moving. He was really beginning to think that Reborn was affecting his brain. Exiting the tent again, he decided to prepare one more torch for Natsu, and exited his hyper dying will mode. The two males soon came out of the tent, looking like they hadn't slept at all despite them getting the most sleep out of everyone. They seemed to perk up however at the sight of the food, which Lucy, Erza, Tsuna, and Happy were already eating their share. Gray grabbed his own plate, and Natsu looked confused when there wasn't another one left, until Lucy pointed to the torches he had completely missed. They chatted a bit about random things, until they finished, cleaning up their dishes afterwards as well as packing everything up.

Tsuna yawned lightly as they finished, still slightly tired, though it was kind of weird not to have been woken up by a hammer or kick to the face like usual. He followed the group as they began walking back to wherever it was they were going, him not being certain, as he hadn't bothered to ask. Natsu was walking in front of everyone with Happy, and Lucy and Gray were behind him. Erza followed, pulling along the huge cart, which apparently only contained her things, making Tsuna wonder what she could possibly need that much luggage for. He walked a bit behind Erza on her right, so he was walking beside the towering luggage. Na-tsu padded along beside him, seeming to be pretty happy with the walk.

Lucy and Gray were talking, though Tsuna could only pick up fragments of their conversation so he had no idea what they were saying, and it was the same with Natsu and Happy. Erza was silent, so Tsuna was left to his own thoughts as they continued on, the sparse forest allowing for Erza's cart to go through, though he had to wonder why they didn't take a road on their way back instead of walking through a forest. He was pretty sure they had some means of transportation that would be quicker than walking, but shrugged, figuring they had their reasons for avoiding it.

The next hour of walking was uneventful. Natsu had fallen back a bit and was now talking to Lucy, and there was the occasional argument with Gray, though it was quickly put to a stop as Erza began glaring at them. Tsuna's box weapon had gotten tired a while ago, and now rested on his shoulder comfortably; though Tsuna had to admit he was getting slightly tired as well. They took a small break a few minutes later to rest their legs, before starting off again.

Tsuna looked in front of him as they kept walking, another hour having passed since their break. He blinked a few times as the light became a bit brighter, and saw the edge of the forest ahead, which they reached in another minute. As they exited, Tsuna could see a fairly small expanse of bare ground littered with rocks before it reached a town, and he had to look at the buildings in wonder as they looked nothing like the ones back in Namimori. Lucy slowed down a bit until soon she was walking beside Tsuna as they crossed the barren landscape.

"The town up ahead is Magnolia. That's where we all live. Well, Natsu lives outside of it, but it's close by still. It's also where Fairy Tail is."

"What is Fairy Tail though?" He asked in confusion, and Lucy just laughed lightly.

"We'll tell you when you get there," She responded teasingly, and Tsuna sighed as he got the same answer as before, but continued on walking as he waited to see what this 'Fairy Tail' was.

* * *

><p>A silver teenager was currently panicking over a certain brunette's disappearance, while his friend just laughed and tried to calm him down. They were standing at the wall in front of Tsuna's yard, as he hadn't been home when they came over yesterday. School had been going on for twenty minutes, and still there was no sign of the Vongola Decimo. They figured out rather quickly that Tsuna had gone somewhere, since Reborn wouldn't let the brunette skip school, there were certain of that. But the part that puzzled them was that Reborn was still here, instead of with Tsuna.<p>

"Maa, maa, Gokudera. I'm sure Tsuna's fine. He can take care of himself." The taller of the two teens patted Gokudera's shoulder reassuringly, who in turn growled at Yamamoto.

"Shut up, Baseball-idiot! Of course Juudaime can take care of himself! But still, I should know where he is. It's my job as his right hand man!"

Yamamoto laughed again at his friend's enthusiasm.

"Why don't we just ask the kid? He's bound to know," He suggested with a grin, and Gokudera scowled at him, but walked towards the door of Tsuna's house anyways.

They knocked twice, and when they got no answer, pushed the door open cautiously. They were surprised at the silence in the house, since normally Lambo and I-pin would be arguing with the boy screaming about candy, and telling others to 'bow down to great Lambo-sama'. They walked forwards and over to the living room, where Reborn was sitting, sipping a cup of espresso, and oddly enough Giannini was also there, surrounded by charts and pieces of metal as he worked on something. They looked back over to Reborn, who was smirking, and there was a small silence before Gokudera broke it.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Reborn-san. But we were wondering if you knew where Juudaime is?" Gokudera ended his sentence with a hopeful tone, and Reborn's smirk grew wider.

"He's in a different world right now."

"You mean he got hit by the idiot cow's bazooka again?" Gokudera began panicking again, since the last time they were sent to the future it had been pretty bad, but calmed down after Reborn sent him to the floor with a well placed kick.

"I said a different world, not a different time, Gokudera."

"Did he get abducted by UFO's? Shit, I should have noticed if there were signs of them coming. I've failed as his right hand man. How are we supposed to get him now wh-"

Reborn sighed as Gokudera continued to babble nonsense, before he silenced him with a smack to the head with his Leon-hammer.

"He wasn't abducted, stupid. I sent him over to the other world. Though it should still be inhabited by humans, not some weird image you've probably conjured up."

Gokudera looked shocked at this, but was also slightly disappointed that he wouldn't get to meet an U. M. A.

"Haha, this sounds like a fun game! Where did you send Tsuna anyways kid?" Yamamoto just laughed like usual, angering Gokudera again.

"Who knows," Reborn replied, the smirk back on his face.

Gokudera only thought for a moment before he came to a decision.

"Reborn! Please send me to where Juudaime is. As his right hand man, I have to protect him."

"Haha, I'll come as well then. It sounds like fun," Yamamoto grinned, and Gokudera glared at him.

"Oi, we don't need you to come, Baseball-freak." Yamamoto just laughed again, brushing the insult off like usual, as the shorter teen continued to glare at him.

"Tsuna could probably use some help." Was Reborn's reply, and Yamamoto glanced up as Gokudera spun around. Reborn was currently aiming the silver bazooka at them, the two of them already confirmed in the mechanics for travel.

"Wait, Reborn-san! I have yet to complete the re-" Giannini tried to protest the use of the bazooka before a return machine could be made, but the Arcobaleno had already fired, and the room quickly filled with black smoke again. There was some coughing heard from Gokudera and Yamamoto, before it was suddenly cut off. Morphing into a fan, Leon blew the smoke out of the room and it slowly cleared, until Giannini and Reborn could see through the haze again. As the lack of the storm and rain guardians became apparent, Reborn smirked again, while Giannini sweat dropped at the fact that he might have just trapped two more people in another world.

"Be grateful, Dame-Tsuna, since I'm helping you. Don't expect more anytime soon though," He said to the absent Vongola, and Giannini decided to just work on making a return device as fast as possible instead of dwelling on the infant's cruel, but typical words.

* * *

><p>Gokudera and Yamamoto's eyes went wide as they suddenly found themselves falling through the air. They looked down at the fast approaching ground, but knew they wouldn't die since they were above a lake, surrounded by trees. Gokudera quickly turned around as best as he could in the air and surveyed the area, seeing a town not to far from their position. He heard a splash below him as Yamamoto landed in the water, and winced as he also hit it, the force of it hurting quite a bit. As he slowed down in the cool liquid, he kicked out strongly to where the surface was upon getting his bearings. He broke the surface and gasped in a mouthful of air, and soon Yamamoto also joined him. The baseball player also gasped slightly, but not as much since his lungs are larger than the shorter teens, and his reactions let him shift into a form that didn't absorb as much shock when hitting the lake. They both quickly swam towards shore and dragged themselves out, their wet clothes slowing them down a bit.<p>

"Haha, that was fun, ne, Gokudera?" Yamamoto laughed, and the silver haired teen scowled at him.

"There was nothing fun about, Baseball-freak! What if there wasn't a lake beneath us?" He yelled back.

"Well, we're lucky that there was then!"

Gokudera sighed and decided to just give up at that point, since Yamamoto wouldn't take anything he said seriously. He looked around and saw they were in rather sparse forest, though all the plants still had lots of greenery. He looked closer though and saw a lot of vegetation that he didn't recognize, and deduced that they had been transported to another world, like Reborn said. He felt a small amount of relief when he saw the top of a tower from the town he had seen before through the trees, as he had lost his bearings after being submerged.

"Oi, there's a town over there. We should start our search for Tenth there."

Yamamoto laughed and nodded, following behind the still pissed bomber.

_He must not like water much,_ Yamamoto thought to himself, but had no idea that it was he making Gokudera so angry. He shrugged and continued to follow, glancing around at all the different plants, and smiled when he sometimes caught sight of unusual animals. After a few minutes of walking, they broke out of the tree cover and into a rocky plain that had quite a few boulders and large rocks, making many small cliffs. Looking ahead, the black haired teen spotted a group of people heading towards the town. He looked closer, and soon saw familiar spiky brown hair as he spotted Tsuna.

"Hey, Gokudera!" He called to the shorter teen, who glared at him over his shoulder, still walking towards the town at an angle and not facing the group.

"I think I found Tsuna!" He laughed out, and Gokudera froze, quickly spinning around to the direction the baseball player was pointing.

"Juudaime!" He yelled, and grinned as Tsuna turned towards him with wide eyes, as did the others. He ran after Yamamoto, who was already heading over to where Tsuna was.

* * *

><p>Tsuna and the others were about 20 feet away from the outskirts of Magnolia, when suddenly Tsuna's hyper intuition acted up. He froze in the spot, and Lucy took a few more steps before she looked back at Tsuna, confused.<p>

"Tsuna? Is everything alright?" She asked worriedly, and the others also stopped walking as they heard a question, looking back towards the young brunette as well. He didn't respond, but tried to focus on what his intuition was telling him and figure out what it meant. Before he could though, a familiar voice answered the question for him.

"Juudaime!"

He turned towards the sound with wide eyes to see his Storm guardian standing at the edge of the forest, as well as Yamamoto, who was already walking forwards with a grin on his face. Gokudera was wearing his blue jacket as well as a white dress shirt and a lighter blue tie. His pants were a light olive green and he also wore sneakers, as well as his usual black wristbands. Yamamoto had a black jacket on with a white T-shirt underneath, as well as blue pants and sneakers and he also had a black wristband on his right wrist. Evidently, they had been ready to go to school when they got sent over.

"Yo! Tsuna!" He said happily, and soon Gokudera caught up with him, glaring at the taller teen for a moment before turning back towards Tsuna. He narrowed his eyes as he saw four other people with Tsuna, and activated his Vongola Gear. Goggles appeared over his eyes, and two strands of dynamite crossed over his torso, with another one acting like a belt and the words Vongola written on the two lines that made up an X for the buckle. Two more belts filled with dynamite were now on his upper thighs, and his right arm had a gauntlet on it. Already holding four sticks of dynamite, he glared at the others, thinking that they were threatening the short brunette, and he got ready to light the small explosives with the pipe-shaped igniter in his mouth.

"Oi, bastards, who are you?" He growled, and Lucy took a hesitant step backwards, laughing nervously. Gray stepped forwards though, glaring back at Gokudera.

"We could ask you the same thing, jerk." He ground back, and placed his hands together, getting ready to attack the silver haired teen.

"Ah! W-wait, Gokudera, Gray!" Tsuna suddenly called out, and the two looked at him, surprised.

"You know this guy?" The asked simultaneously, before glaring at each other again. Yamamoto just laughed, and Tsuna sweat dropped at his carefreeness.

"Y-yeah. That's Gokudera, one of my friends, and the black haired one behind him is Yamamoto." He explained to Gray, but the mage still looked wary.

"G-Gokudera, please put away your dynamite. They aren't enemies," He reassured, and the self-proclaimed right-hand man unwillingly de-activated the Vongola Gear, and Gray lowered his hands in response.

"Haha, who're your friends, Tsuna?" Yamamoto smiled, and Tsuna felt much of the tension in the air evaporate.

"I'm Natsu! And this is Happy." The fire mage was the first to speak, and Happy agreed with an, "Aye!"

"Whoa, the cat can talk? That's pretty cool," Yamamoto laughed, and Gokudera just kept scowling, ignoring the others.

"I'm Erza Scarlet." Yamamoto nodded in acknowledgement to the red-haired woman, and turned toward Lucy next.

"I'm Lucy Hearfilia. And the guy in his boxers over there is Gray Fullbuster."

Gray blinked in confusion and looked down, seeing that he had unconsciously stripped again.

"Crap! When did that happen?" He yelled in shock, and quickly ran off to look for his pants, wherever he had thrown them. Yamamoto laughed in amusement at the whole situation.

"That's just like Tsuna when we first met him, ne, Gokudera?"

"Don't compare the Tenth to that idiot, Baseball-freak," he growled, and Yamamoto just laughed while Tsuna sweat dropped.

"A-anyways, wh-what are you guys doing here?"

Gokudera stopped scowling and turned to face his beloved boss.

"I asked Reborn to send me here, since as your right hand man, it's my job to be here for you!" He responded proudly, and Tsuna let out a nervous chuckle.

"I came as well since it sounded like fun. Besides, it would be boring without you and Gokudera around." Yamamoto responded, laughing, and the brunette sighed at the typical behaviour of his rain guardian. Na-tsu jumped off of Tsuna's shoulder and ran happily to the tall teen, who crouched down and greeted him.

"Hey, Tsuna, are they also in the, um, Mafia?" Lucy asked, momentarily forgetting the name.

"Y-yeah. They're my closest friends, but they also help me out with that stuff." He said sheepishly, though he left out the fact that they were his guardians and technically subordinates, since he hated the idea.

"Do they also need a place to stay then?" This time it was Erza who asked, and Tsuna nodded his head quickly.

"Y-yeah. They would probably go anywhere I went though, so I think they might need to come with us."

"Of course we would follow you, Juudaime!" Gokudera yelled out, and Tsuna resisted facepalming at his friend's eagerness towards the mafia.

"Then we should take them with us as well," Lucy spoke to Erza, who nodded her head.

"GRAY! We're going!" She yelled, and they were soon re-joined by the raven-haired teen, who had managed to find his pants in time.

* * *

><p>As they walked through the streets of Magnolia, many people greeted the mages, while the Vongola group looked around the town, the designing being completely different than their hometown, Namimori. They were currently heading towards the opposite end of town from where they entered, and they could see a large stone bell tower above the other buildings.<p>

After half an hour, they reached a staircase that led to the upper ground at the far side of the town, next to an ocean. As they began to ascend the steps, they saw that the building the tower was attached to was huge, stretching out to either side pretty far. The entrance doors were also large and made out of solid wooden planks, the building itself made from stones and bricks. Underneath the bell there was a large orange flag that had an odd symbol on it, and a fence, complete with a gate, surrounded the perimeter of the whole thing. The top of the gate had the words 'Fairy Tail' on it, and Tsuna quickly figured out that this was what the others had been talking about.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Lucy announced cheerfully, and Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto nodded in acknowledgement, still marvelling over the building in front of them. Erza was the first to start walking again after they had paused, and Natsu, Lucy, and Gray soon followed along with Tsuna and his guardians. As they walked, they passed by a café set up with quite a few people sitting and chatting, many of them greeting the mages. Erza opened the large wooden doors and walked inside, while Tsuna looked around. The interior had drywall and hard wood flooring. Many tables and benches were set up on either side of a path going through the middle, and at the far side of the building a stage was present. On the right side of the guild was what seemed to be a bar, and the whole place was filled with more people eating, drinking, or chatting, with a few looking at a long board with many papers posted up, which was also to the right of the group along the wall.

"We're back!" Natsu yelled out, and a few people looked over to greet them. A young girl with long dark blue hair ran over to them, followed by a white cat that looked like Happy a bit.

"Welcome back!" The girl greeted brightly. She was wearing a green sleeveless dress that wrapped around her neck and she also had orange bands on her upper arms. She wore red sandals that wrapped around her lower calves as well. The cat, which Tsuna assumed was also an 'Exceed', was wearing a white top along with a dark navy blue bow around the neck. She had a black skirt on, as well as black leggings that covered her feet as well.

"Ah, Wendy, Carla! We're back," Lucy responded to them smiling, and the girl smiled back with the Exceed nodding. The white cat then noticed Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera, who were standing quietly at the entrance of the building.

"Who are they?" She asked, and Lucy looked behind her at the new comers.

"Oh yeah! They need to meet master. Do you know where he is, Wendy?" She asked politely.

"He's over with Mirajane at the bar." The blue haired girl, evidently Wendy, which would mean that the cat is Carla, answered as she pointed to where a white haired woman was cleaning a glass. The front of her hair was done up in a ponytail, and she wore a red sleeveless dress with white fringes that was also held up at the neck. Sitting on the counter beside her talking was a small balding man who also had white hair and a moustache. He wore a white jacket with fur on the edges, which looked like a winter jacket almost, and underneath it they could see a pair of black pants and boots. He looked up from his conversation when Erza approached him, everyone else following her.

"Ahh, Erza, welcome back. Did you all succeed in getting rid of the large bandit gang in the other town?"

"Yes master. Though it was a bit of overkill with all of us there."

The old man laughed at this, grinning.

"I could've guessed as much."

"Ano, master, we need to talk about something," Lucy cut in, and he looked over at her.

"I think in private would be best," She added, and he nodded his head, now noticing the new arrivals.

"Alright, but I would like Mirajane there as well, since if it concerns the new arrivals, she's supposed to take care of it."

"That's fine."

The small man jumped off of the counter as Mirajane exited from behind the counter. He led the way up a flight of stairs and into a rather spacious room where they all stood: Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, the old man, Mirajane, Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto. Na-tsu had returned to his ring a while ago.

"Is there something different about this group of youngsters that we need to know about, Lucy?" The white haired man asked after a moment, and Lucy started to explain what she knew along with Erza, a few things added in by the Vongola group when they didn't remember something or needed to clear it up. The master listened silently, only occasionally asking question, and Mirajane seemed to be taking down notes about this. Finally, they finished, and it was silent for a bit as the man thought about everything. Tsuna was feeling a little bit nervous, though he wasn't even sure why. Finally, the man looked up.

"Well then, Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto," He addressed them by name, as Lucy had introduced them at the start. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, your temporary home and family." He finished with a smile, which was reflected by the Fairy Tail members and Yamamoto, while Tsuna just let out a sigh of relief and Gokudera nodded.

"I'm Makarov, the master of the guild. So just call me master, like everyone else does."

"A-ano, m-master, what exactly i-is Fairy Tail?" Tsuna asked uncertainly, and Erza, Lucy, Gray, and Natsu had surprised faces.

"Oh yeah! We forgot to tell you when you got here, didn't we?" Lucy asked, and Tsuna nodded shyly in return.

"Fairy Tail is one of the many guilds that we have in Fiore, our Kingdom." The one who decided to explain was Gray, as Lucy and Erza had already done all the other talking, and Natsu was, well, Natsu. "Guilds are places where wizards gather together, and requests are sent to these guilds so that those who use magic can fulfill them. We're known for being one of the rowdiest and most destructive guilds out there, but we're also recognized as one of the strongest. There are lot of different guilds that exist, ranging from large ones like ours, sometimes even bigger, to very small ones. Most guilds are good, but there are some that are known as dark guilds, quite a few of them being legal guilds that were supposed to disband, and their requests are usually for stealing things, assassinations, or other things like that. Every guild has a mark as well, and you probably saw ours outside on the flag. Anyone who joins a guild gets that guilds symbol stamped on their body somewhere, with no fixed colour."

Lucy held out her right hand, which had pink symbol on it, and Natsu turned and showed him his red one on his right shoulder. They could all see Gray's dark blue one on the right side of his chest as he still had yet to put a shirt on, and Erza showed hers which was a lighter blue on her left shoulder, slightly covered up by her shoulder guard.

Tsuna blinked in surprise that he managed to miss that, but turned back to Makarov as he began talking again.

"Well, we should get back downstairs now."

"U-umm, of you wouldn't m-mind, can please l-leave out the whole mafia bit? The people who know about it right now accept us and d-don't think poorly of us, but I don't think everyone would be like that." He stuttered slightly through the sentence, but Makarov nodded anyways, having understood.

"I'll leave it out then. Though I trust that my members would accept you regardless, there might be one or two who wouldn't. Well, let's get going then."

He led the way out the room with the others in tow, and as they walked down the stairs again, a lot of conversations reached their ears, seeming much louder than before.

* * *

><p>Wendy had watched curiously as Erza and her friends led the new people over to Makarov, where they talked quickly before heading upstairs, Mirajane also following. She blinked in wonder at this, and looked over to her left when she saw Lisanna approaching.<p>

"Are Natsu and the others back?" She asked, and Wendy nodded in response.

"Yes, they just arrived. But they had three new people with them and went over to talk with master. He led them upstairs, and even Mira went with them! I wonder who they are?"

Carla snorted.

"They seem like trouble to me. You should stay away, Wendy."

"Aw, they can't be that bad, Carla. I'm sure they're perfectly nice, especially since Lucy and Erza seem to like them," She finished with a smile, and Carla just shrugged in response, still not really trusting them.

"Eh? The master went to talk with new comers in private, and with our strongest team, too? How important are these guys?"

Wendy glanced over to one of the tables to see that Wakaba had overheard her, having been previously talking with Macao.

"Seriously? How powerful are they then?"

"Are they with the magic council?"

"Maybe they're really famous celebrities!"

"Or what about reporters? Though it's kind of odd to do an interview in private, or to come in with everyone else."

Wendy sweat dropped and laughed nervously as practically the whole guild was talking about the three teens, and she felt slightly bad for them and the amount of attention and mobbing they were going to have to suffer through once they came down. She slightly panicked as she saw Makarov walking down the stairs again, with everyone else behind him.

"I hope they'll be fine with the amount of questions they're going to get," Lisanna commented, also laughing nervously.

* * *

><p>Tsuna cringed slightly as almost all eyes turned towards them when they reached the bottom of the stairs, and he knew they were going to get a lot of questions.<p>

_Does the master not normally talk with new people? Or maybe it was Natsu's group?_

Mirajane left to go over to the bar again, where a few people were sitting, and Makarov also went with her, where they resumed their chat while she worked.

Tsuna was thankful that not many people approached them, but 4 humans and 2 cats came over, Wendy and Carla among them. The other cat was pitch black and looked like a panther almost. He had a scar at the corner of his left eye, and wore green pants with a brown waistband, and there were bandages wrapped around his stomach. His shoes were brown, and he also had white socks on going past the bottom of his pants and underneath. He was standing in front of a tall man who had long black hair that was spiky, the bangs slicked back to show a stern face with a few metal studs piercing it, as well as red eyes, reminding Tsuna of Xanxus almost. He wore a dark tunic that went down to his calves in the back, and was torn at the bottom. His pants were a slightly yellowed white colour, and they were tucked into black boots. On the right side of his tunic there was an odd black feather like decoration pinned on, and it resembled a wing. Beside him stood a short girl with light blue hair that went a bit past her shoulders, most of the bangs held back with an orange bandana, though two strands a bit longer than her chin hung on either side of her face. She wore a simple orange dress with white along the top and a matching bow, and it wrapped around her neck, holding the whole thing up. Though the dress had no sleeves attached, she had arm covers on that went as high as her dress was, so her shoulders and a little bit below were exposed, and she also had red sandals on. The last person was another female with very short white hair and resembled Mirajane quite a bit. She had a light blue striped shirt on with sleeves that went down a bit past her elbows, as well as army green short-shorts and comfortable sneakers.

"Welcome back, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza. It's good to know your mission went well."

It was the white haired girl who spoke first, before looking over towards the new members.

"I'm Lisanna Strauss, Mirajane's sister. It's nice to meet you."

_So that's why she looks so much like Mirajane. _

Tsuna looked over at the short girl next, as she had stepped forwards and extended her hand, which he shyly shook while she smiled.

"Levy McGarden. Welcome to Fairy Tail." She released Tsuna's hand, and he nodded in acknowledgement.

"Oi, Natsu, who are the brats?"

Tsuna flinched slightly at the harsh tone that the man used, but spoke up anyways.

"I-I'm Tsunayoshi S-Sawada. Please j-just call me Tsuna, t-though."

The man glared at the brunette, and Gokudera growled as he stepped in front of him.

"Stop glaring at then Tenth like that, bastard."

"'Tenth?' Of what?"

"Of the Von-" Gokudera got cut off as Tsuna hurriedly put a hand over his mouth, laughing awkwardly.

"Ahaha, it's j-just a nickname that h-he uses around me. I'm n-not the tenth of anything, r-really!" He knew his lie was really lame, but the others didn't seem to care that much.

"Tch, whatever. I'm Gajeel Redfox." He muttered.

"And my name's Pantherlily, but just call me Lily," The cat finished, before Yamamoto stepped forwards.

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. Nice to meet you all!" The teen gave his usual smile, and laughed lightly.

"Gokudera Hayato." The silver teen's introduction was short, and the others quickly realized that he probably didn't want to talk to anybody.

"Hey Natsu, how come they were with you when you got into the guild? Plus, all of you went to talk with Master, in private, too," Lisanna inquired.

"Oh, that. We just needed to sort out a few things with them. And we had asked them to come to Fairy Tail anyways, so they were travelling with us on the way back. Plus, this guys insanely strong."

Almost everyone was shocked that Natsu managed to give out such a good lie, but Tsuna froze slightly as Natsu patted his shoulder when he said the last line, grinning like usual.

"Seriously? This runt? You sure you haven't just gone soft?" Gajeel asked sceptically, and Gokudera was about to pull out his dynamite for insulting the brunette before Tsuna stopped him.

"Oi! I haven't gone soft. The kids really strong! He uses fire, ice, and summoning powers. It's like me, Gray, and Lucy in one person!" He yelled, and Tsuna shrunk a bit as shocked eyes turned towards him.

"How the hell can you use three different types of magic like that?" Gajeel asked harshly.

"U-umm, I don't know?" The answer was partially the truth, since he was unsure of how some of his powers worked.

"That's really cool, Tsuna!" Lisanna cut in, smiling, and the brunette rubbed his head, laughing nervously.

"Have you made a team yet?" Levy added. Tsuna blinked, confused.

"Team?"

"Oh, we forgot to tell you about that. In a guild, you can do missions independently or with others, and there are some people who also form teams that they always go with. The four of us are one team actually," Lucy explained for them, smiling.

"Haha, I think we've always been a team, right, Tsuna, Gokudera?" Yamamoto laughed, and Gokudera glared back at him.

"I'm only on the same team as you because Juudaime is, Baseball-freak," He growled out, and said baseball-freak just laughed again, while Tsuna tried to get him to calm down.

"Ah, I should have guessed as much," Lisanna replied.

"Tsuna! Gokudera! Yamamoto! Can you guys come over here?" The trio turned to where the voice came from and saw Mirajane waving them over at the bar. They said a few quick goodbyes before walking towards the white haired woman, who had what looked like a stamp in her hand.

"I need to give you all the Fairy Tail mark while you're part of this guild," She explained.

"Where would you like it?"

The three took a moment to think, before Gokudera stepped forwards.

"The right side of my neck is fine. Anywhere else would get covered up with clothes or equipment."

Mirajane nodded, and pushed the large stamp against the designated place, a red symbol appearing on it.

"I guess I'll put mine on my upper right arm then."

Yamamoto shrugged of his jacket and also got the stamp, it being just below the end of his sleeve and a light but deep blue in colour.

"Haha, this is pretty cool," He commented, grinning.

"What about you Tsuna?" The white haired mage asked.

"U-um, I'll just put it on my lower right arm I guess. It shouldn't be covered by the X-gloves this way."

Mirajane stamped the symbol on in the middle of his lower arm, and it was an orange in colour.

"Our symbols match the colour of our flames. That's pretty neat, huh?" Yamamoto randomly said, and Tsuna blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, I guess they do."

They smiled and headed back over to where the first people from this world where, Lisanna, Levi, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, and Lily already having gone off somewhere.

"Congratulations on becoming members of our guild, guys."

Erza nodded in agreement with what Lucy said.

"It's bound to be more lively with all of you around now."

"Hopefully we can do a few quests together. I want to see Tsuna's fighting skills again, and same with you two as well." Gray smirked slightly as he said it.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Natsu grinned, looking very happy and pleased.

"Now I can challenge you guys whenever I want to. No way am I gonna lose again!"

Yamamoto laughed at his enthusiasm, while Gokudera just looked away. Tsuna gave the fire mage a nervous smile, not really being one to fight if given the choice.

"Anyways, welcome to Fairy Tail officially!" Lucy finished, and Tsuna's nervous smile turned into a sincere one.

_Maybe this won't be so bad. _He thought warmly, and watched as Gokudera and Gray started arguing for some reason, while Yamamoto just laughed and tried to calm them down, though it was futile until Erza stepped in, even making Gokudera freeze up. Lucy just watched it all, chuckling slightly, and Natsu and Happy ran off, yelling something about training.

* * *

><p>A tall black haired man was leaning back in a chair, his feet crossed and on the table in front of him. The room he was in was circular, and the only light came from odd blue candles placed around the walls. He glanced up as large wooden doors on the opposite side of the room.<p>

"Sir, we have confirmed the position of everyone. They have now entered Fairy Tail, and have been accepted as members."

The man smirked, pleased.

"Good. Continue to watch them and their newfound friends. Don't make any moves to attack yet. The time isn't right."

"Yes, sir." The informer left swiftly, closing the doors behind him.

As the doors close, the man at the table let out a deep laugh.

"Fairy Tail. Vongola Decimo. Soon, I'll destroy you both." He grinned, and a menacing light glinted in his eyes.

* * *

><p>AN: Ugh, finally done. _ _ I hope you enjoyed this, though I'm not sure how exciting this was. I finally figured out a plot for this story, though there'll probably be a chapter or two before it actually starts. I fell like such a hypocrite for adding in Gokudera and Yamamoto, but I needed them to make the plot work, and I don't think that they would just sit there knowing Tsuna's gone and not try to go after him. OTL The other guardians probably won't come in though. If I do add in one more, it would probably be Ryohei, just so I could write about him and Elfman. XD Thank you for all the reviews. They really motivated me, as well as the alerts and favourites. I'm honestly shocked at the amount of people who like this story. ._. Updates sadly will probably slow down now, since I'm heading back to school tomorrow, but I'll keep them as fast as I can write. I probably spent at least half an hour trying to figure out where to put their Fairy Tail symbols though, which is probably really pathetic. ^^' Anyways, please review and criticize, I like to know what my readers do and don't like about this story and my writing. Ciao!


	5. First Mission, Start!

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I had to completely edit a story for school, since I had 16 pages for it but apparently we were only allowed 5 maximum. OTL Anyways, I can't believe how many people really like this story. It really brightens up my mode, especially since one of my friends is having some issues with one of her friends pretty often. I hope you'll enjoy chapter 5 of 'The Flames That Crosses Dimensions', and tell me what you did and didn't like about it. I don't mind hearing where I went wrong, really. Just don't be mean about it. ^^' The total word count this time is 6,098 words.

Reviews:

Caeol05: Thank you fro the review. I think I'll have fun writing the villains in this story. xD

The real poison ivy: He probably would. w Unfortunately, I don't think I can find anywhere to work him into the plot, since another character would disrupt the whole plot. _ _ Gomen.

Fionlao: Here's the update. ^^ I hope it wasn't too long of a wait, but I'll try to not to take too much longer for further updates

The FLAMING bunny: I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story. :3 And enjoy this chapter as well.

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: I'm happy to know I can cheer people up with my failed attempts at humour. ^^' And I am taking care at school, at least as much as you can when one of your friend's greetings is to pretend to punch you in the face, as well as random death threats and telling me to bring a hammer so she can hammer me. ._.

KamiDoragonX: Sorry if the plot is a bit predictable. OTL I'm going to try and work in as many surprises as I can, but I'm no sure how successful I'll be. ~'

XxCondorxX: Sorry for the previous lack of action, but future chapters should pick up in pace. Hopefully my inexperience with writing fighting scenes won't murder the story. -A- I hope the future chapters will continue to live up to your expectations!

XSega789: Thank you for the review. ^^ I hope you'll enjoy the chapter, and I'll keep on working on the plot to try and make it as interesting as I can. -w-

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><p>A week had passed since Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera had been officially accepted into the guild. Makarov let them stay in a resting area with multiple beds, and didn't charge for the meals that they needed. Yamamoto had already made friends with almost everyone in the guild what with his happy personality, while Gokudera just ignored everyone except for Tsuna, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Natsu, Makarov, and Mirajane, and tried to ignore Yamamoto. Tsuna was pretty timid around the other members, but they always seemed to strike up conversations with him if he was nearby and without Gokudera, who always yelled at them for 'speaking disrespectfully to the Tenth.' All in all their stay had been enjoyable so far and pretty relaxed, except for the daily battle challenges from Natsu, where Lucy had to come in and save Tsuna from the fire mage, and the arguments between Gray and Gokudera.<p>

Mirajane had appropriately named them 'Team Vongola', which raised some questions from other members, but Tsuna just said it was the last name of one of his ancestors when inquired about it.

Currently, the three of them were looking at the job request board, as they wanted to at least pay some of the cost for letting them stay in the guild, not to mention all the meals.

"Lost item, house repair, treasure hunt, body guards, house caretakers... Haha, there sure a lot of different jobs, Tsuna," Yamamoto laughed, his usual grin on his face as they looked over all the different requests.

"Y-yeah. We should probably start with a pretty easy one though."

"Aww, but where's the fun in that?" the teen mock pouted, and Tsuna just laughed nervously.

"I agree with the baseball-freak for once, Juudaime. You should take their hardest job and show everyone how strong you are!"

Tsuna stared at the two.

_Out of all the times they had to agree, they had to choose now?_

"If you could defeat Natsu and basically Gray, then you don't have to start small," Erza added, walking up behind the trio.

"Hiiee! B-but, we aren't u-used to this world y-yet, s-so…" Tsuna trailed off as he saw the others ignoring him while they looked at jobs, Erza helping them. Lucy caught his eye and gave him a sympathetic smile, and he sighed, hoping that they would be merciful in their choice.

Gray had also seen the group and came over to look at the requests, and soon saw one that caught his eye.

"Hey, it seems like those bandits we got rid of last week built a base and are looting another city. They don't learn, do they?"

Lucy stood up from the chair at the bar she had been sitting at and walked over, looking over Gray's shoulder at the sheet.

"What? Already? They must have hired a guild or something if they were able to build a hideout that quickly. It looks pretty impressive, too," she added, looking at the picture included. Erza also came over, and quickly scanned the sheet.

"Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, why don't you take up this one?" Erza suggested, taking the paper from Gray and handing it to Yamamoto, who read the information quickly before Gokudera snatched it from him to read it as well.

"A-ano, I d-don't think that it's the best m-missio-"

"Haha, sound like fun, ne, Tsuna?"

"Juudaime, show everyone how strong you are with this job!"

Tsuna just stared at his guardians in disbelief. Did they really want to try and destroy a bandit's hideout when they had only been in this world for a week?

"We should go with them I think," Lucy added in, and Gray and Erza nodded.

"Yeah, they shouldn't be alone for their first mission," Erza agreed. "I'll go and find Natsu."

With that she headed off, and Lucy took the request sheet with Gokudera following her as they went to inform Mirajane of Team Vongola's first job. Tsuna just watched everything despairingly, wondering why he couldn't possibly get anyone to listen to him. Gray gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder as the ice mage walked past, exiting the guild to probably go kill some time. Tsuna pulled his hair slightly and silently panicked, before dropping his hands with a sigh.

_I'll just have to go along with everything that happens, it seems._ He shuffled over to an empty table and sat down tiredly as he waited for everyone else to get back so they could start the tort- I mean, quest.

* * *

><p>Erza had soon come back with a hyper Natsu and Happy, and she already had her luggage cart. Yamamoto and Gokudera had joined Tsuna at the table a while ago since they had nothing to pack, and Lucy was also waiting with them. Gray had come back a few minutes before, and also was seated at the table, though he and Gokudera had been glaring at each other the whole time.<p>

"Everyone ready to go?" Erza asked, and they all nodded, though the only other person who had brought luggage was Natsu with his usual pack. The group followed Erza out of the guild again as they began heading towards the train station. As they were walking, a few more people exchanged a few quick words with Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Natsu, and Tsuna had to wonder how well everyone knew the mages around this town.

The brunette pulled out of his thoughts as a building came into view, and judging by the trains and platforms inside of it, he guessed this was the local station. The building was mainly a light brown, and was rather open; most of the trains painted dark greens in the front and the rest of the cars a tan colour. A train conductor yelled out cities corresponding with the platforms, and they headed over to one of the trains as the city being terrorized by the bandits was announced.

They all went on the train ahead of Erza who had to store her luggage, and Tsuna couldn't help but wonder how they possibly had enough room for all of it. They sat down, Tsuna and Gokudera on one bench, Natsu and Lucy on the opposite one. Yamamoto and Gray shared the neighbouring seats while leaving the opposite one from them open for Erza, who joined them after a few minutes. Looking at Natsu, Tsuna noticed that he looked rather unhappy about the whole train thing, and as the whistle blew and the train started up, he realized why. The rocking motion quickly sent Natsu's stomach churning, and he leaned his head out the window to get fresh air and a cool breeze, which didn't seem to help him much. It almost reminded the brunette of Gokudera around his sister, though it didn't even compare to Gokudera's cramps. He now understood why the group had been walking to and from the cities when he had first come here.

"So what exactly do we need to do anyways? I didn't really get a chance to read the request," Tsuna asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"When we first met you we had been heading back from a mission. A large group of bandits had been looting a town repeatedly, so they needed mages to scare them off, which we had done."

"Is that why Natsu asked if the bandits had sent me when he attacked me, and why him and Gray were both so hostile?"

Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, though they did kind of jump to conclusions," she admitted. "Anyways, it seems that they've built a base already – probably with the help from a dark guild – and the nearby town is being raided by them. So our job is to destroy their base and capture their leader and any other prominent people we see, so it should at least take a few months before they can re-organize themselves."

Tsuna's face was slightly pale at the end of this all.

"E-exactly how big is this group?" he asked nervously. Lucy thought for a moment.

"Judging by the amount of people I had seen last time, around 50 or 60 I think."

"Hiieee! That m-many? We only have seven people to fight against them though. How can we possibly win against those odds?"

"Trust me, Erza, Gray, and Natsu alone would be more than enough to take all of them down, let alone you, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and I to help them."

Tsuna sweat dropped, and figured that if Hibari could singlehandedly take down a bit over 500 high level opponents – even if they were made of ice – then the other mages could probably defeat 50 or so enemies.

"Y-yeah…" he stuttered out, and Lucy smiled, before turning to talk with Happy, who didn't seem the least bit concerned with Natsu's state for the past 10 minutes. Gokudera seemed deep in thought, and Yamamoto, Gray, and Erza were also in a conversation. The brunette settled down in his seat for the long train ride ahead, and sighed, glancing out the window. For some reason he felt uneasy about this mission, like something bad was going to happen, but he dismissed it as him being paranoid.

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><p>Sometime along the way Tsuna must have fallen asleep, as Gokudera was now shaking him awake, all train movements stopped as they had arrived in the station. Blinking his eyes, the brunette rubbed the sand out of them before standing and stretching after his small nap. He followed the silver haired teen out of the train, where Natsu had recovered from his motion sickness enough to stand, while Lucy and Erza were talking. Yamamoto was cheerfully laughing while talking to Happy, and Gray seemed to be looking at a map. The black haired teen glanced up as Tsuna and Gokudera made their way over to the group, and he folded up the map, stuffing it in the pocket of one of the bags in Erza's huge luggage cart. Seriously, what does she have in there?<p>

"We should get going. If we want to get back to Magnolia before dark, we can't delay too much," Gray informed them, and everyone nodded.

Having just looked over the map, the ice mage lead the way, with Lucy behind him as well as Tsuna and his guardians, Natsu a bit further behind as he got over the last of his queasiness and Erza brought up the rear, Happy sitting on top of her cart.

A block or two away from the city's edge, Erza put the entirety of their luggage into a building where they watched over it until you came back. Exiting the building again where everyone else was waiting, they set off again, seeing the last few houses of the city as the reached the edge of it. A long valley with steep cliffs stretched ahead of them, mainly composed of bare ground and rock, though there was the occasional patch of grass or a random shrub. The walk was filled with Natsu's exited chatter, and the occasional sarcastic comment from Gray. Erza broke up any fights the two started, while Lucy and Yamamoto just laughed, though for separate reasons. Tsuna also couldn't help but chuckle a few times, while Gokudera just kept glancing at the top of the valley walls as if expecting someone to come and attack them.

As they walked, Tsuna couldn't but feel uneasy still. The valley was dead silent, only occasionally broken by the scuffle of claws from a rodent or two living in the surrounding rocks. The conversations from Natsu, Happy, and Gray seemed to bounce and resound off of the walls, adding to the volume of Natsu's half yells.

They had been walking for at least twenty minutes by now, and the Vongola boss blinked as the mouth of the valley appeared up ahead. The mages in front of him stopped their constant bickeri-chattering, probably hoping not to alert the enemy they were here, though Tsuna was fairly certain they had heard already. As they exited, the brunette had to squint his eyes since while in the valley the sun had been blocked by the walls, now it shone down brightly again. Blinking a few more times, his eyes adjusted and almost immediately widened as he could make out everything.

In front of him was a grey tower three stories high, made out of cobbled stone.

"Ahaha, that sure is impressive," Yamamoto commented.

"H-hiieee! How are we supposed to destroy that?" Tsuna all but shouted the question, and Yamamoto laughed again while Gokudera tried to calm his boss.

Natsu slammed his fists together, flames already flowing from them.

"Destroying is the thing that Fairy Tail wizards are best at. This will be no problem." He grinned, and got ready to charge. Gray had formed an ice cannon that was now aimed at the building, and Erza had somehow managed to change into what seemed to be a silver metal dress, though her stomach was exposed and four metal wings were attached to the back. Her arms had more metal on them in the form of gauntlets, and she a sword in each hand, as well as a winged headband. Lucy took out a golden key from a large group of them, and after a quick sentence, swiped the key downwards, and in a flash of light a girl with short purple hair wearing a maid outfit as well as chains around her wrists appeared. Tsuna now understood about what Gray had meant when he referred to summoning magic. Glancing over to his right, he saw Gokudera already in his Vongola gear. Yamamoto had also activated his, now dressed in his usual traditional Japanese samurai outfit, as well as his blue gauntlets and his two swords.

Swallowing two dying will pills, Tsuna blinked open calm sunset orange eyes, his usual gear adorning his hands and leg again.

"Let's go," he said, and they charged towards the tower where an alarm had just been set off.

* * *

><p>Enemies had come rushing out quickly, but well placed bombs from Gokudera and shots from Gray's cannon eliminated the front lines easily. Using the smoke as cover, Yamamoto dived into the fight with his swords ready, Erza along side him. Lucy trapped some of the enemies in large pit falls made by her summon, and Tsuna and Natsu also headed in to deal punches and blows, as they began their attack on the hideout.<p>

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><p>Tsuna quickly spun around and harshly hit an enemy in the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious. He jumped backwards as a knife was swung down where his leg had been a second ago, and he quickly also knocked the other attacker out as well. They had been at this for 10 minutes already, and most of them were tiring out already. Lucy's estimated 50 or so had been way off, with more than twice the number swelling out of their target. The others had been scattered across Fiore, independently stealing before they returned to the main group apparently. He hit another enemy as he came charging forwards, but soon was surrounded by 5 more. He dodged as one came from his left, but had to roll as two from his right lashed out when he neared them. Quickly calculating, he waited until the next strike came, and as the man brought down the sword he was carrying, Tsuna caught it, immediately ripping it away and slamming the hilt down on the offender's head. He threw the sword at another one, who merely blocked it with his bat. Tsuna charged at him faster than he could follow, also hitting his pressure point in his neck, knocking him out as well, and did the same to the other sword wielder. He spun around in time to catch another club aimed for head, but he jumped to the side as another knife slashed his leg. He hissed in pain as he felt the blood pooling around his pant leg and some dripped onto the ground around him, but he remained calm. He had taken out three, so the only ones attacking him currently were the remaining two with a club and a knife. He faked to the left before charging to the right to take out the larger one holding the club, who would be slower. He quickly dealt swift blows to him until he too fell down, and grabbing his club he swung it into the others head, wincing as it made contact and hoping he didn't give him a concussion.<p>

Increasing the fire on his gloves to a higher level, he flew up and out of the scramble to survey the field. Ironically enough, Gokudera and Gray were currently fighting back to back as enemies came at them from all sides, but they were holding out fine. Natsu was dealing multiple blows to those around him, sped up by Happy's wings. Erza was defeating multiple enemies with new armour, this time it being black with bat wings on the back as she brandished a black sword. Yamamoto and Lucy were fighting together as well, though the purple haired summon had been replaced by a male with orange spiked hair in a suit, a tie and what seemed to be glasses more for style than anything else. His fists glowed as he dealt out multiple blows with Lucy lashing out with a black whip, and Yamamoto swiftly defeated multiple enemies with his rain flames and Shigure Soen style.

They had most of the enemies defeated, and a few dozen more came out of the tower, though they seemed to be the last of them. Diving down again, Tsuna flashed by them, dealing most of them hard hits to their stomachs or chest and sending a few of them flying, being knocked unconscious by the harsh impact. He quickly dealt with the other men he had injured, and looked up to see only around 10 or so left. Dashing forwards, he knocked out another three before they could react, and soon took down another 5 who only had fists to fight with. The last four had a mixture of daggers, an axe, a club, and even a staff. He went for the staff wielder, and his experience after battling Mukuro's trident helped him swiftly take him down. Brandishing the weapon, he hit the club wielder on the neck harshly, and dropped the weapon to charge the remaining duo. Dodging a well-aimed dagger that skimmed his arm, a swift punch to the gut sent him reeling. He rounded on the remaining bandit, but watched as he dropped his weapon and fled in a random direction, though a stray ice cannon hit him in the head and he dropped like his allies. Tsuna sweat dropped at the almost comical display, but glanced around for any more bandits.

Erza had just defeated her own group, as had Natsu, Gray, and Gokudera. Lucy and Yamamoto soon finished as well, and her summon stayed out for some reason. Walking forwards still in hyper dying will mode, the brunette soon met up with the others, and he could now see them better. Erza only had a small scratch on her cheek, and Natsu was just bruised and dirty. Gokudera and Gray had kept relatively unharmed with their ranged weapons, and Lucy was also fine. Yamamoto had a rather nasty bruise showing underneath his left gauntlet, which Tsuna guessed was where he had blocked an attack, and the orange haired summon was also unharmed save for some light bruising. Quite a few of them were out of breath, though Erza seemed fine and Natsu, if anything, seemed eager to fight more. The summon Lucy had called forwards stepped forwards after a moment.

"It's nice to meet you all, Vongola family. I heard about your situation. I'm Leo, but I prefer Loki," He explained, extending his and out to Tsuna, who shook it.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Loki. I'm Tsuna, and the black haired one is Yamamoto, while the silver teen is Gokudera," he introduced, also adding in the others names for them. He blinked in confusion however, as worried eyes from most everyone seemed fixed on him.

"What?" he asked questionably, and let out a surprised grunt as Loki, who still had his hand clasped over Tsuna's, tugged him forwards and sat him down on a nearby rock sticking out.

"Take of your sweater," he ordered, and Tsuna, still confused, did as he was told, removing his white and orange sweater he had stashed in his school bag. As it fell of his right arm though, he hissed slightly as air hit a cut along is upper arm, now exposed. The blood was still flowing slowly, and he looked at his sweater to see a rather large cut on the sleeve, which was pretty drenched with the red liquid, even if the cut was small. He glanced down at his left thigh, where he remembered getting another wound, and nearly winced as he noticed the amount of blood still coming out of it, just now noticing the pain from it as well as the slight light headedness from blood loss.

"Looks like you got off worse than any of us, Tsuna," Gray commented, coming up to him. He ripped off part of his shirt – for once he hadn't stripped within five minutes – and pressed it up against Tsuna's arm, wiping of the blood before he froze a thin layer over top of it. They couldn't really clean up Tsuna's leg yet, so Gray just settled on freezing it as well, and Tsuna let out another hiss of pain at the stinging cold now attacking the injury.

"Thanks, Gray," he said gratefully, because even if it did hurt he didn't have to worry about blood loss now.

Gray nodded in acknowledgement, and grasped Tsuna's hand as he pulled the much smaller teen to his feet, who stumbled a bit before righting himself. Tsuna glanced at the building still standing, barely scratched as they had been occupied before.

"So we need to destroy that now?" he asked, and the others nodded.

"I think you should rest though Tsuna. You've lost quite a bit of blood." Surprisingly enough it was Happy who had spoken up, seeming concerned for the brunette.

Glancing in the direction he came from, Tsuna realized that the Exceed was right. A trail of blood followed the path of his left leg, and it was rather thick too. He shook his head however.

"I'll be fine. I've gone through worse," he assured them before turning back the building, examining it.

"Gokudera, do you think it would get destroyed with the upgraded version of _that?"_

The bomber was confused for a moment before realizing what Tsuna meant, and after a quick mental calculation, nodded his head.

"I'm certain it will, Juudaime. You took out Enma's black hole with it after all, and defeated Daemon using it."

Everyone except for Yamamoto looked shocked at what they had heard, trying to figure out what could possibly be strong enough to take out a black hole.

"Haha, you're going to use the XX Burner Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, laughing, and Lucy's face lit up at the sound of the familiar word.

"Wasn't that the technique that you used to slow down Natsu?"

Natsu and Gray's faces also lit up, but Natsu seemed a bit sceptical about it.

"The technique was pretty strong, but not nearly enough to take out this thing."

I think what you saw was the down graded version of this, the X Burner," Yamamoto grinned, and Lucy, Natsu, and Gray looked stunned.

"Yeah, that was what I used. It was also only ten percent of the full power," Tsuna added, and he could swear that if the trio's jaws dropped anymore they where going to hit the ground.

Ignoring the confused looks from Erza and Loki who had no idea what they where talking about, Tsuna called out Na-tsu, who had been staying hidden during the battle.

"Na-tsu, Cambio Forma," He commanded, and Na-tsu let out a happy but small roar as his eyes narrowed, pupils changing slightly as he began glowing brightly. The light morphed and attached to Tsuna's gloves, and when it died down, there were newly added parts reaching his elbows. He took off into the air, about to where the top of the first floor on the building would be, and crossed his arms in front of him, palms facing towards the structure.

"Operation XX," he stated confidently, and a small whirring sound was heard in his headphones – which he had also been in his school bag when he got transported – and stats flashed across his contacts as the familiar female voice spoke up.

"Understood, boss. Now initiating XX sequence. Now firing soft flames from the arm parts."

Flames came out from the end pieces of Na-tsu's cambio forma, shooting in the direction of Tsuna's back. On the ground, the Fairy Tail members looked on in wonder, while Yamamoto and Gokudera grinned, or moreover smirked in the bomber's case, and took a few steps to the side and back, not wanting to have to dodge falling ruins. The others followed them over, not sure what to expect, before turning back to the small brunette who was still increasing his flames level.

"The combustion levels of the counter burner are rising. Left and right burners flame levels are also rising," the female voice stated again, and Tsuna could feel the pressure growing, ready for a sudden burst.

"Target locked on. Gauge symmetry. Stand by for launch."

Tsuna took a deep breath, before releasing it along with the large amount of charged flames. A beam larger than him was sent shooting forwards, the front almost looking like Na-tsu's face as it raced towards the stone tower. It hit dead on, and a huge explosion resounded through the air, as well as a large amount of smoke. Gray quickly made a large ice shield as debris came flying from the explosion, protecting the group from harm. A light could be seen through the smoke where the XX Burner was, and after another 10 seconds it died down.

The group waited a minute for the dirt and dust to settle, as well as pulverized stone. As it cleared, they saw the extent of the damage. Having aimed at the lower part of the tower, the force of the attack had sent the top crashing into the ground, and more of it was destroyed from the last of the XX Burner's energy finishing expelling from Tsuna's hands. The base was totally decimated, and they were certain that it wouldn't be repaired anytime soon. Glancing up, they saw Tsuna wobbling slightly in the air, Na-tsu having reverted back to his normal form. Tsuna slowly descended, but the Fairy Tail members plus Tsuna's guardians could see that the sheer intensity of his attack had melted Gray's ice, and the leg wound was now bleeding profusely. Ten feet above the ground still, Tsuna grew to weak to support himself with his flames, and he plummeted down. Happy dashed forwards before anyone else could, and caught Tsuna just in time, who gave the Exceed a tired but grateful smile. Setting him down gently on the ground, Happy let go as Yamamoto rushed towards Tsuna, supporting him while Gokudera also ran forwards. They exchanged a few words between them, a few concerned looks from the storm and rain guardians followed by determined nods from the brunette, before they both stepped away.

Tsuna wobbled slightly as he stood, but managed to keep his balance, watching his friends walk a few paces away before facing him. He gave another nod, and they sighed while pulling out their Vongola Gear again, and raised the weapons towards Tsuna. The Fairy Tail members were shocked, but before they could move, a blast of strong blue and red flames headed towards the exhausted brunette, ending in a small explosion upon reaching their target.

"Oi! What the hell did you just do?" Gray yelled at them, and the two just looked at him, seeing his face etched in rage, as well as Loki's, Natsu's, and Erza's. Lucy and Happy were still shocked that they would attack their friend and boss like that, but suddenly a flare of light came from where Tsuna had been standing when the flames were sent his way. The eight turned back towards the direction, and the Fairy Tail members were shocked as they saw Tsuna standing there, if anything stronger than before and his flames larger.

"Good thing it worked, ne, Tsuna?" Yamamoto laughed out, and Tsuna nodded, smirking, before it turned into a smile as his flames extinguished, Na-tsu heading back into his rings.

"Y-yeah. It would have been bad if I left myself that drained after all," he agreed, before noticing the stunned faces coming from the older group of teens.

"I-I asked them to shoot their f-flames at me, since I have a technique that c-can absorb their flames and turn them into my own, s-so it restored my energy," he explained, while the others just continued to gawk. After a minute of shock, Loki broke the silence.

"I should probably head back now, Lucy. I don't want to keep using your magic power."

"Y-yeah. Take care, Loki," Lucy responded, breaking out of her stupor before smiling at the spirit, who swiftly disappeared again.

Tsuna was putting pressure on his wound, wishing that Reborn could have sent over Ryohei at this point. Gray headed over to the brunette and re-froze the wound, which he let out a yelp at, not as tolerant to pain without his dying will flame. Finished, Gray stepped back while Yamamoto helped him to his feet along with Gokudera who was growling at the black haired teen, while the rain guardian just laughed it off. They glanced over as Erza approached them, not even having noticed she had left. Her armour was back to normal now, and she was dragging behind a man with her. The others raised an eyebrow at that.

"It's the bandits leader," she explained, and the others nodded. The man had a buzz cut and was blond and pretty muscular, though he was defenseless in Erza's grip, and had long since given up struggling, now just letting himself be dragged around by the redhead. She took a quick glance at Tsuna before addressing the group.

"We should head back to the town right about now I think," she suggested, and was answered with unanimous nods. She lead the way away from the destroyed base, as well as all the unconscious bandits who would either scatter, or get taken in by the police later. Natsu followed, seeming slightly depressed that he didn't get to destroy anything, and Happy paced alongside him along with Lucy. Gray, Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Tsuna brought up the rear, the brunette getting slight support from his guardians. The Vongola heir sighed tiredly, but couldn't help but give a slight smile at the outcome of the whole thing.

_At least everyone is fine, and we can get home now._ He thought contentedly, but soon felt a twinge in his gut as his hyper intuition acted up, but he dismissed it as an ache from a hit he took sometime before.

* * *

><p>"The group has successfully taken out the bandit's base, as expected. The Vongola Decimo is wounded and weak from blood loss and his XX Burner despite acquiring storm and rain flames from his guardians. Our troops are in position right now. Permission to attack requested, sir," a man, the same one that had informed his boss before, reported, awaiting his response.<p>

"Permission granted. Tell Cynthia and Eterna not to hold back."

"Yes, sir."

The man saluted, before exiting through the large wooden doors again. The remaining person, in the dark circular room still, lifted a glass of wine up, swirling the contents around.

"Prepare yourself, Decimo~. You'll soon be mine to control, and you'll bring about the very defeat of your dear friends." He nearly sang out the line, before taking a sip of his drink. Throwing the glass at a wall, where it shattered and stained the floor and wall crimson, he stood up, swiftly heading towards the doors at the far side of the room, the candles being blown out by an invisible wind as he swept past.

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><p>AN: And finished chapter 5. _ _ Sorry if the plot seems rushed, it's just it worked best this way, and I don't think you wanted another random chapter just to fill up space that has almost no relevance to the story. There'll still be plenty of chapters to go though, and as always, I'll try to make them as long as I can. Thank you to all who have favourite and alerted this story. Special thanks to all who have reviewed and let me know how I'm doing. :3 Please continue to review and criticise. It really helps my writing, as well as work drive. ^^ Until chapter 6. Ciao!


	6. Blood Moon Attacks

A/N: I really did not expect to get this much feed back on my story, and I thank you all for reviewing, favouriting, or alerting this story. *bows* Still, I swear all of you have turned me into a hypocrite since I keep adding more guardians. OTL Ah well, future chapters should be rather interesting with them in it now. :3 I ended up getting sick yesterday as well as today, s I was able to work on the story non-stop, which is probably the main reason why it's out now rather than a later date. _ _

Reviews:

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: Um, I honestly don't know. ._. Really, I didn't think I would be able to write them this long, but it just kind of came out his way. xD And crap, I totally forgot about that. o.o His blaming himself on the inside, Ill just day that. OTL

Anime-VGsUltimate00: Ahh, thank you! It's nice to know I don't completely butcher fighting scenes. And I was fairly certain that they would be rather impressed with the attack. I know I was when I saw it on the manga. -w- It makes me really happy to know that you anticipate my updates. And as for your question, it'll be answered within the chapter. *nods*

The Flaming bunny: I'm happy that you enjoyed the chapter so much. ^w^ I had fun writing about the XX-Burner. xD And your suggestion's answer is contained within, like, the first three paragraphs of the story. lwl

KatrinaKHR27: Thank you for reading and reviewing. I'll try to keep my updates as quick as possible, while still having a life. TTwTT

The KHRFairytail addict: Thank you for the review. It's always good to know that the plot is okay, since I used to be one of those people who would just write with no plot in mind at all. ^^' *manga spoiler for the Shimon arc* Unfortunately, I can't feature the Vongola rings, as they have been turned into the Vongola gear, as much as I wish I could write about them. TTATT

XSega789: Again, it's nice to know that you all enjoy the fighting scenes. I haven't had much experience writing them, and for the ones I have written, they're usually about animals, not humans. ^^'

Aoi No Sora: I'll keep reviews coming as fast as I can. I'm happy to know that my story excites you, and keeps you looking forwards to the next chapter. -w-

Nerdyfresh: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters. ^^

Hanazono Aya: Thank you for the review. I would like to write an Erza vs. Yamamoto fight, though I'm not sure if I could work it into the story. I might just end up writing random duals to add as omakes or bonus chapters. _ _ And don't fail the test because of my story, please! But it's always good to know that it beats studying. XD Anyways, Ill keep updating to the EXTREME! :3

Okay, enough blabbing. Please enjoy chapter 6 of The Flame That Crosses Dimension. ^^

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><p>Giannini glanced over at Reborn, as he hadn't said anything for a while. He saw the infant's mouth pulled into a small frown, and he looked slightly troubled.<p>

"Is something the matter?" Giannini asked worriedly, and Reborn just gave a barely perceptible nod.

"I've just got a bad feeling about something," he replied, and his fedora shadowed his eyes. "I'm sending over the rest of the guardians."

"W-what? Even those two?" Giannini exclaimed.

"Of course. It will make it more interesting anyways."

Giannini sweat-dropped at the smirk now pulling at Reborn's lips, and wondered if this was really supposed to help Tsuna. As he watched Reborn exit, bazooka in hand, he was fairly certain it was only to torture the poor Decimo further.

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><p>Natsu walked alongside Lucy and Happy still, following Erza as she dragged her prisoner. Tsuna had recovered enough that he could support himself, though he still limped pretty heavily. Yamamoto and Gokudera were on either side of him – the bomber being on his right side of course – in case he stumbled, and Gray brought up the rear. He brunette's hyper intuition was still bothering him, and he was slowly figuring out that it wasn't just an ache from the previous battle. The front group was chatting happily, while Gokudera and Yamamoto had their usual one-sided argument going on again. Gray was silent, as was Tsuna, both lost in their own thoughts.<p>

A few moments later, it suddenly sharpened, and he stopped walking. His two guardians looked over at him worriedly, and also stopped walking along with the others. His intuition was currently telling him to look up, and he dreaded doing so. He could guess why he was supposed to, as it had gone off exactly like this before Gokudera and Yamamoto had shown up. Not to mention that Na-tsu had fallen from the sky, as did Tsuna when they arrived. He just hoped Reborn didn't send over his cloud and mist guardians as well. He turned his face skyward, and sure enough there were four figures falling towards them. He only groaned, but inwardly he was panicking that he would have to deal with a certain skylark and pineapple head.

As he watched, large purple spiked spheres grew in the sky suddenly, and the black haired figure easily began jumping down them towards the ground. Another one had yellow flames erupt from the boots on his feet, and he too descended. Long plant tendrils coming from the ground caught the last two, and lowered them as well. Gokudera was growling as he watched the other guardians join them, while Yamamoto did his typical laugh and grinned. The others stared at the new comers warily, not sure if they were friends or foes.

The first to reach the ground was Hibari, and the needled spheres disappeared as he landed. He looked around quickly, before his eyes landed on Tsuna, narrowing as he saw him. The Vongola heir shrank slightly under the glare coming from the steel-blue eyes, but soon they were turned to glare at the other people present. Ryohei landed next, having thrown caution to the wind and fallen the last ten feet to the ground with his signature catch phrase being yelled. Tsuna winced slightly as he connected to the ground harshly, stumbling as he landed and almost landing face first into the rocky ground. Gokudera sighed loudly and smacked his hand against his forehead in exasperation, wondering how idiotic one person could get, while Yamamoto just laughed in amusement. A very odd chuckle overrode Yamamoto's light one though, and it sent a shiver down Tsuna's spine, as Mukuro landed gracefully a few feet away, Chrome jumping off of her own platform beside him. They were all wearing their usual outfits. Ryohei was still in his school uniform like Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera, and Hibari also wore his, though it was a wonder how his jacket had managed to possibly stay on his shoulders after all that.

"Sawada! What happened to the EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled, and Tsuna swore he felt air pressure from the volume.

"Herbivore, if you don't answer I'll bite you to death," Hibari added as he took out his tonfas, making the brunette swallow nervously.

"A-ano, well…" He tried to answer, but was soon interrupted.

"GOKUDERA! YAMAMOTO! I extremely haven't seen you the past few days!"

"Shut up, turf top. Can't you see Juudaime is trying to speak?" Gokudera snapped back at the Ryohei, who grew annoyed.

"What was that, octopus head?" he yelled back, and soon the two fell into their usual routine of arguments, with Yamamoto laughing and trying to calm them down, which only served to further annoy the silver haired bomber. Hibari looked about ready to bite every person present to death, namely Mukuro, who was just chuckling lightly while Chrome looked over at everyone nervously.

"Tsuna, who are all these people?" Gray's question broke Tsuna out of his thoughts, and he turned to see the mages looking confusedly at the others, and also slightly warily.

"Oh, these are my other…friends, I guess you could say. The black haired one who looks about ready to kill everyone is Hibari, the really loud white haired one is Ryohei, and the purple haired one is Mukuro. Ah, and the female is Chrome," he explained.

"I'll bite you all to death for crowding."

Tsuna looked over at Hibari who was raising his tonfas again, and quickly stepped forwards.

"W-wait, Hibari-s-san! Don't bite anyone to death please!"

The raven-haired teen didn't seem too pleased with being ordered around by the weaker brunette, but lowered his arms anyways.

"Kufufufu, would you mind explaining what has happened, Tsunayoshi? I was just about to finally settle things with the skylark, too," Mukuro added, and Hibari glared fiercely at him. Before they could break out into a fight, Tsuna quickly, albeit unwillingly, responded.

"Um, y-you probably got hit by one of G-Giannini's inventions, though i-it's probably the only that works…"

"And what does the machine do?" Hibari asked coldly, still glaring.

"H-hiee! I-it transports you to a-another world. T-though he forgot to m-make a return switch, s-so we're kind of s-stuck here for a while," he quickly responded, favouring not making his wounds worse. The older teen didn't seem very happy with the answer, but at least his tonfas stayed resting.

"Um, Bossu, who are those other people?" Chrome asked quietly, and Tsuna realized she was talking about the Fairy Tail members.

"A-ah, the blond haired woman is Lucy, and the red haired one is Erza. The black haired male is Gray, and the other one is Natsu. Also, the blue cat is Happy," he introduced them, each one nodding or smiling as he introduced them. Hibari continued to glare at them, but his mouth formed a smirk.

"Are they strong?" he asked, and Tsuna gulped, knowing what would happen next.

"Of course we're strong!" Natsu yelled out, still grinning. Tsuna tried to warn him silently, but he didn't seem to take notice, unlike the others.

"Natsu, I don't think we should challenge anyone when they just got here," Erza broke in.

"But he's the one who-" He cut off his sentence when Erza glared at him, and just nodded in conformation. Hibari seemed displeased with the answer, but surprisingly enough didn't attack. Instead his eyes glanced over at the top of the valley walls, and his smirk returned.

"Kufufufu, looks like we have company Tsunayoshi," Mukuro smiled eerily, and everyone quickly turned to also look at the top of the valley, as well as either end of it. Enemies lined the walls and crowded at the entrances, trapping the group. Oddly enough, every single pair of eyes that faced them was red, and they all wore goggles as well. Tsuna noticed guild symbols on the ones closest to them, and glanced over at Lucy and Erza, who had also noticed.

"D-do you recognize the gu-guild?" he asked nervously, but both shook their heads. The large group surrounding them had weapons raised, or their hands for magic use.

"Looks like we won't get out without a fight," Gray growled, and everyone got into battle position again, though Hibari, Natsu, and even Mukuro looked pretty pleased at the prospect of fighting.

"Juudaime, please allow us to take care of this. You shouldn't fight with your wounds. As your right hand man, I'll protect you!" Gokudera stated confidently, and though Tsuna probably should do as he suggested, he still shook his head.

"No, Gokudera. I'll fight with everyone else."

Gokudera looked at him concerned, but didn't argue with his boss, though he didn't agree with Tsuna's decision. He knew that there would be no swaying his mind once it was made up. Yamamoto and Gokudera activated their Vongola gear, as did Tsuna after swallowing his dying will pills. Ryohei activated his bangle, and soon was adorned with his boxing gloves, helmet, and sun boots. Hibari's hedgehog, Roll, flashed in a bright light, and the jacket on the skylark's shoulders soon became a long black trench coat, and Hibird had a pompadour on his head. Mukuro's earing glowed as he equipped his own gear, and soon a staff with crystals around the end was in his hand. Chrome gripped her own trident tighter, as she prepared to fight alongside them.

Natsu had flames engulfing his hands already, and Erza was back in her black winged armour. Gray had an ice cannon already made, and Lucy had summoned a large muscular cow, though he seemed more intent on fawning over her and Erza than the actual battle. The first enemies charged forwards, the front lines being taken out by Gokudera and Gray again, though many more pushed through. Those on the cliffs were currently climbing down, and Tsuna, Ryohei, and Erza picked them off, having air combat abilities. Hibari had leaped right into the middle of the crowd, and was annihilating everyone around him. Mukuro and Chrome were also devastating their surrounding enemies with their illusions, which were solidified by mist flames. Yamamoto and Lucy were fitting side by side again, her with her whip, the weird cow thing using an axe, and Yamamoto using his swords like usual. Similar to Hibari, Natsu had thrown himself into the middle of a group as well, taking care of his surrounding foes.

The new guardians were at first surprised with everyone using magic, but soon grew accustomed to it. Ryohei was defeating large groups by charging up his sun bangle for his stronger attacks. Erza was, of course, also destroying all enemies within a ten-meter radius without a struggle, and Tsuna was doing pretty well, though his previous injuries were slowing him down slightly. Everyone else was easily keeping up with the enemies as well, who were all rather weak.

Tsuna's hyper intuition had been bugging him since the beginning of the battle, and he got the feeling that the people they were fighting were only a distraction. Dealing with most of the people on the cliff by him, he made his way over to Erza, hitting an enemy who had been behind her. She glanced over at him, confused.

"I think these guys are only a distraction," he got out, before he had to take out a few mages aiming attacks at him.

"Yeah, I was thinking that too. They wouldn't send in people this weak to deal with us, especially if they saw our fight with the bandits."

"Any idea what they're trying to keep us away from?" Tsuna asked, punching another person who had been about to slash him with a sword. He glanced over at Erza, but she shook her head negative.

"No clue. Just stay on your toes until then." She swung her sword and another three opponents fell. "Damn, they just keep coming. This is as bad as when we had to fight Phantom Lord," she growled, before charging towards more enemies. Tsuna took this as his cue to leave, and went back to his own section, knocking off all the enemies on the cliff face with a X-Burner at twenty percent. Him, Erza, and Ryohei had made it up to the top of the valley wall; Erza taking one wall while Tsuna and his sun guardian took care of the other wall. They were dismayed at the amount of enemies still up there, but pressed on. After another 5 minutes of fighting with only denting the enemy numbers, Tsuna decided on a different strategy. He looked over to Ryohei, who had just knocked out 6 of the opponents with a well-placed Sunshine Counter.

"Onii-san! Can you stall them? I need time to charge my XX-Burner!" Tsuna asked the boxer, and the older teen nodded his head.

"Of course, Sawada! I'll stall them to the EXTREME!" he yelled back, and Tsuna moved to the middle, as did Ryohei.

"Operation XX," he muttered, and his headphones whirred to life again, as did his contacts.

"Understood, Boss. Now launching XX sequence. Now firing soft flames from the arm parts."

Tsuna watched as the power levels on his contacts began steadily rising, updates being stated by the female voice as per usual. He lined up the X mark with the middle of the group, which Ryohei was barely able to hold off, but it would still buy him enough time for the attack. A few more punches from Ryohei had another large amount of enemies down, and Tsuna was happy that they were bunching towards the middle, since he could now hit a larger amount of them with the attack.

"Levels stable. Target locked on. Standby for launch."

"Ryohei, it's ready. Move!" he warned. The white haired teen quickly glanced back at Tsuna, before darting behind him.

"XX-Burner," the brunette muttered, and flames erupted from his crossed hands. The enemies froze as he released the powerful attack on the large group, stupidly not moving. Tsuna almost compared them to a deer caught in the headlights, as the powerful amount of flames kicked up the surrounding dirt while it raced towards the still unmoving group.

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><p>Tsuna coughed lightly as some of the kicked up dirt entered his lungs, one of his eyes closed and the other one squinting to block out the harmful particles. Soon it settled, and he was relieved that he had hit most of the people with the attack, either knocking them out or injuring them too much to be a threat anymore. There were still many left unharmed enough to fight though, being on the sides where his attack didn't reach. He dashed over to the left side where enemies were still standing, and out of the corner of his eye noticed Ryohei move to right. In five minutes, they had defeated the remaining opponents, and the two Vongola members stood panting lightly. Tsuna now had time to examine the people more closely. The goggles that they all had were exactly the same apart from the colours, ad he had to wonder about their purpose. The guild symbol they all adorned looked like a moon with the middle cut through, and something seemed to be dripping off the bottom of it. If he had to guess, it was probably supposed to be blood coming from the cut, since his intuition was fairly certain that this was a dark guild. He turned around to look at where Erza was, and she was winning her fight swiftly, though Ryohei headed over to help anyways.<p>

Walking to the edge of the valley wall, he surveyed the rest of the battle. Hibari had already defeated everyone close to him, though he still seemed to be looking for more people to 'bite to death'. Mukuro and Chrome had also finished off their group, and glancing up he saw that Erza and Ryohei were now done as well. Back in the valley, Gray was almost done, as was Gokudera. Lucy and Yamamoto were fighting still, though their opponents were swiftly falling as Lucy had summoned an archer in… a horse costume? Tsuna decided it would be better not to ask. He also spotted Natsu finishing up, only ten enemies remaining. Gray and Gokudera had fallen back to back again, and within the next few seconds had devastated the remaining people in their area, and it was only a matter of time until Lucy's group won. Natsu had also finished off his group, and he was grinning as he headed back, obviously pleased with the fight.

Tsuna flew down to the valley floor where those who had finished were waiting, though Hibari stood away from the rest of the group of course. As he reached the ground, Yamamoto's group finished off their enemies, and now walked towards them. Gokudera followed behind them, as he had stopped to check something that Tsuna hadn't noticed. All the opponents were now defeated, but something still gave Tsuna uneasy vibes, though he wasn't sure what. He glanced around cautiously at the surrounding area, and his eyes widened as he saw one of the people they were supposed to have defeated raise a magic gun and aim it at Gokudera's back, who hadn't noticed the threat. He realized that even if he warned the bomber, Gokudera wouldn't be able to dodge in time, so he opted instead to dash forwards.

"Gokudera!" he cried, and pushed the surprised teen out of the way as the trigger was pressed. The shot echoed through the valley, and Tsuna lurched slightly as he felt the bullet pierce his side.

"Juudaime!" Gokudera yelled, and he was horrified that his boss had taken a bullet for him.

"I-I'm fine," Tsuna choked out, but his intuition suddenly screamed danger at him. Before he might have been able to dodge, but after the bullet hit, he was slowed down too much. He only managed to turn his head before something wrapped around his wrists, and he looked down to see what looked like spider webs entangling them. They pulled his hands behind his back harshly, making him wince, but he couldn't do much with his hands immobile. More strands attached to his throat and waist, and he grunted in pain as they tightened, the one around his waist pressing directly on the gun wound, though the shooter had now passed out.

"Tsuna!"

Said brunette glanced over to see Yamamoto run forwards, and his sword slashed down heavily and quickly on the webs, severing them. Or not. The blade might as well have hit concrete. The strands didn't even fray, and it actually even chipped the swordsman's blade slightly. Tsuna could sense something odd about the strands, but before he could figure out what it was, they were tugged, sending him back a few steps as he stumbled. Yamamoto had to jump away to avoid hitting Tsuna with his blade, but before he could try another rescue attempt the web pulled harshly again, and didn't stop, pulling Tsuna up swiftly. He winced as he rammed into the valley wall, but soon forgot about it as his feet lifted the ground, pulling him towards the top of the cliff wall. He gasped for air as the web around his neck tightened, but within a few seconds he was already at the top, lying on the ground. His eyes were closed as he coughed, regaining his breath. A tinkling laugh broke through the air, and he cracked open one eye, looking up to where two females towered above him.

One of them had very long black hair, almost reaching the ground, and it was pulled into a side ponytail. She wore black combat boots, as well as black short-shorts, and had long legs, making her rather tall. She had a white jacket with black lace along the cuffs and the bottom of it, and a lace pattern on the front. It was open slightly at top, revealing a black top underneath, also rather lacy. Her bangs were brushed to the side, and like the others they fought before she had goggles on, which were currently resting on her head. She also had a sword at her side, and her face had no expression.

The other one, which Tsuna guessed had let out the laugh, was leaning over him grinning, and unlike her companion she had a rather small build, reminding him of Levy almost. Her hair was cut at her chin and was auburn, and she wore a red bow off to one side. She had form fitting black capris that cut off at her knee, and a matching black top on as well, which had tails in the front. Overtop of it she wore a red long sleeve jacket, though the middle part only covered her chest and also had a large bow in the center. On her feet she wore red lace up boots, and the girl also had goggles with her, though she wore them around her neck. The thing that shocked him the most though was that she had four red spider legs coming from her back, and he saw the web he was caught in lead to the ends, where it seemed to be coming out of. He noticed a contrasting dark purple mark on her left cheek, and he matched it with the ones the previous enemies had. The silent girl also had one, though hers was on her right thigh just below her shorts, and was a dark brown.

"Looks like capture was a success~!" the cheerful one sang, and the other one just looked annoyed.

"We should just get going, Cynthia," she muttered.

"Aww, you're no fun Eterna," the now named Cynthia pouted, but stood up straight anyways. She lifted the spider legs up, pulling Tsuna to his feet roughly. As soon as he was standing, he quickly shot out his leg to ram into Cynthia's stomach, but she easily dodged.

"Hey now, don't be like that. We don't want to hurt you, De-ci-mo." She pronounced the last word syllable by syllable, and Tsuna froze, eyes widening. Before he could say anything though, a sharp pain erupted in his head, and he looked behind his shoulder to see the other one, Eterna, holding her sword out, handle facing him as she had used it to knock him out.

_Crap, this really isn't good… _ He felt his dying will flame extinguish as he hit the hard ground, and black swarmed his vision.

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><p>"Juudaime!"<p>

"Tsuna!"

"Bossu!"

Multiple voices rang out from everyone below. Well, obviously not Hibari and Mukuro, but they too were surprised. Tsuna had been pulled up faster than anyone could react, though Hibari might have made it if he wasn't too far away. They saw two people standing at the top, and soon one of them rammed her sword hilt into their boss's head.

"Damn! Happy!" Natsu called, but before the cat could lift them up, another string of webs shot between them, barely missing the blue Exceed.

"I wouldn't try anything, if I were you~! Wouldn't want to hurt your precious friend, now would we?"

The pink haired teen glared at the person who had called out, and she now held Tsuna – still unconscious – to her chest, one of her spider legs pressed against his neck.

"You bastard! Give Juudaime back!" Gokudera yelled, and he growled darkly as the other person just laughed.

"Sorry, no can do. Our guild master has some… plans for your precious Decimo."

"How do you know that he's the Vongola Decimo?" Lucy gasped, shocked.

"We have our resources," the black haired one said emotionlessly.

"Who the hell are you?" Gray ground out, glaring daggers at them.

"Oh my, how rude of us! Allow me to introduce us then. I'm Cynthia Maoru, and she's Eterna Fawn. We're two of the strongest and most trusted members of Blood Moon, and there're only six of us total," She introduced proudly. Eterna still seemed annoyed though, and Cynthia decided to listen to what she was saying before she had to doge multiple sword attacks. "But we really should get going now, like Eterna said. Can't make Boss wait to long," she grinned. "Bye-bi!"

Cynthia waved cheerfully, before turning around and dashing away, the still unconscious Tsuna now on her shoulders.

"If you try to follow us, we may have to give our master the Decimo in pieces, so don't try anything," Eterna added, before she too spun around and left, following after her peppy partner.

"No way am I staying here!" Natsu yelled, and Ryohei also seemed eager to follow, as did Gokudera. Hibari wanted to come as well surprisingly, though everyone just sighed after he told them it was just so he could fight the kidnappers.

"All of you stop it! We can't risk endangering Tsuna!" Everyone froze as Erza's voice sounded sternly, though Hibari just glared.

"Why should I care about that what happens to that Herbivore?" he growled, and Erza glared back at the rebellious teen, before Yamamoto broke in.

"Maa maa, Hibari. You'll probably get to meet them later, and they may be with other strong people too, so it's better to wait, isn't it?" Yamamoto laughed, using the same reasoning that Dino had used during the choice battle. Hibari glared at him, but didn't do anything else.

"We need to go tell Master about this. He should know what to do," Lucy suggested grimly, and Erza and Gray nodded in agreement. Natsu and Gokudera seemed about to argue, but a fierce glare from Erza instantly shut them up. Yamamoto didn't say anything, and neither did the others, but that was mainly because they had no idea what was happening.

"Come on. We'll explain everything on the way back," Erza said calmly, before turning and leading the way through the valley again. She grabbed one of the unconscious enemies to question as she passed by them though, and she now dragged him and the bandit's leader – who she still had to drop off at the local jail – with her. Everyone followed her, though Gokudera and Natsu seemed less than pleased, as did Hibari, who was just upset about the crowding. Lucy looked over everything, and sighed, silently asking herself what they had gotten themselves into this time, though she was still worried about the poor brunette.

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><p>Upon entering the town, Erza immediately headed over to the police station, dropping off the bandit's leader, as well as grabbing a pair of handcuffs for the Blood Moon member. Lucy and Gray had already taken out their luggage, so they set off for the train again as soon as she re-joined them.<p>

They soon reached the train station, and Erza again went off to store her luggage again, though the others still wondered how the people in charge of luggage managed to make room for it. They sat down in one of the carts, which in the end only held their group as Hibari glared at any person who tried to enter. He was really angry at all the crowding, though in a different world he didn't have much of a choice.

Once the train started moving, Natsu was soon completely useless again, the swaying motion making him sick again. He sat on a bench in the back with Happy, as there was no point of them being up with the others in the middle. Erza and Lucy shared one seat, with Gray and Yamamoto across from them. Beside them Gokudera and Ryohei sat together, though the silver haired bomber was trying not to yell at Ryohei, who kept getting on his nerves. On the opposite bench Chrome sat nervously, though she was comforted a little since Mukuro was beside her. Hibari of course didn't sit close to them, but he was still near enough that he could hear the conversation, and the prisoner they had was still unconscious, lying on the floor beside Titania. Erza, Gray, and Lucy explained everything that had happened since they had met up with Tsuna. The others listened intently as they recounted the events leading up to today, and they also explained about guilds and mages. An hour had passed by the time they finished, and silence fell among the group, until Ryohei broke it.

"I EXTREMLY don't get anything you just said!" he yelled, and everyone just sweat dropped at this.

"Of course you didn't, Turf Top! You're to idiotic to understand anything." Gokudera glared at the older teen sitting beside him, and soon the familiar squabble broke out between them, though Yamamoto quickly broke it up. Ryohei just fell into silence again, but Gokudera seemed rather troubled about something, a depressing aura surrounding him. The others could easily tell what it was about, but no one knew what to say. It was obvious that he blamed himself for Tsuna's capture, since the bullet that should have hit Gokudera had slowed the brunette down. Even Mukuro seemed rather gloomy, though you would think he would be happy that Tsuna was finally gone.

* * *

><p>The next half hour that it took to reach Magnolia was silent, as everyone was lost in their thoughts, though Hibari would probably bite them all to death if they made too much noise anyways. As the train pulled into the station, they all got off, Happy dragging Natsu onto the platform. Erza carried the unconscious member over her shoulder, as she yet again led the way heading back to the guild. As they walked through the streets, nobody greeted them this time, since they could all sense the gloom that surrounded all of them. Well, Hibari was just emitting a pissed off aura, but they stayed away all the same.<p>

They reached Fairy Tail soon enough, and if Tsuna hadn't been kidnapped they might have enjoyed seeing the large building more. The members who were outside at the café didn't say anything like the towns folk, and just let them pass through silently, though they were beginning to wonder why every time Natsu and the others returned they seemed to be bringing new people back with them. The dragon slayer, who had recovered from his motion sickness a while ago, walked through the open doors first. Some of the members yelled out greetings to him, but Natsu only ignored them, as did everyone else who followed. Lucy sighed, as they seemed to dampen the entire mood of the guild, but knew they couldn't really do anything about it now. She headed over to the bar area again, where like previously Makarov was chatting with Mirajane. He smiled at the group, but it fell as soon as he saw their faces. He quickly looked over the people, and saw that another four had come back with them, as well as what seemed to be a prisoner. He noticed that Tsuna was gone though, and figured something had happened to him. Erza dropped the unconscious person on the ground, and he fell so that they could clearly see the symbol on his arm.

"Do you recognize the guild, Master? They called themselves Blood Moon," Erza asked grimly, and Makarov thought for a moment. However, he shook his head.

"No. They must be a new guild, and probably a dark one since the legal guilds board hasn't been updated recently," he sighed, and looked at them grimly. "What happened?"

Gokudera just looked away, still blaming himself. Even Yamamoto wasn't smiling, and had a serious look on his face. The other guardians weren't sure if they should speak up or not, so remained silent. Erza and Lucy also had grim expressions, as did Gray. Natsu got a dark look on his face, and he growled lowly.

"They ambushed us on the way back from the job. We defeated them all, but they used a cheap trick and took him. They took Tsuna right in front of our eyes, and we didn't even get the chance to try fighting them before they ran."

Makarov lowered his head, deep in thought. The other guild members had also heard, and they too seemed rather sad about the news. Though Tsuna had only been with them for a week, everyone couldn't help but like him. Wendy, who had often talked with Tsuna and hung out with him, stepped forwards.

"We have to take him back, Master. We can't let them do whatever they want with Tsuna," she pleaded, and Makarov looked at her grimly.

"I don't know what will happen if we war against another guild again though. We were lucky to get off after the Phantom Lord incident."

"Who cares about that!" Natsu slammed his fist down on the counter, and quite a few people jumped at the sudden outburst. "You said it yourself. The magic council can go to hell if they want to enforce rules on us. Besides, this is a dark guild we're talking about!" Natsu snapped, and the guild master saw determined faces on everyone's faces, even those who hadn't talked much with the brunette. He looked back at Natsu, and knew he would go to save Tsuna no matter what his decision was. He felt pride grow as he looked at all of them, and it reminded him of the time when they all stood up for Lucy. He looked back at the group who had found Tsuna, a hardened look on his face.

"You're right, Natsu, Wendy. We're taking him back, and bringing the guild down that would hurt one of our precious members," he decided, and Natsu grinned, with the others getting determined smiles on their faces. Yamamoto also grinned again, knowing that they could now get Tsuna back. Chrome gave a small smile, and Mukuro had one of his unreadable smirks on his face while Ryohei just yelled something about EXTREME rescue. Hibari seemed rather pleased that he would get to fight again, as the sheer amount of people in the guild had been pushing him past his limits. Gokudera still looked grim, but he stood up straighter, vowing to take back Tsuna no matter what.

_Wait for me, Juudaime. I'll definitely save you._ He silently promised, and soon the group was bustling around again as they prepared for the raid.

* * *

><p>"Master~! We're back with the Decimo!"<p>

The addressed man looked up from where he sat, yet again in the dim, circular room. He grinned as Cynthia walked through the door, the still unconscious teen slung overtop of her shoulder. The webs still bound his hands, though they were no longer attached to the spider legs, which had disappeared into Cynthia's back as she stopped using her magic.

"Well done, Cynthia, Eterna. I trust that he is unharmed?"

"Relatively. He has a few wounds from the bandit battle and a rather nasty gun wound from where one of our men shot him, but Cynthia put her webs on it so it didn't bleed too much. We can just get Akito to fix him up," Eterna reported, and the man nodded, still grinning. He stood up, and the candles caught a gleam in his red eyes. His black hair was spiky, and hung a bit past his shoulders and some red streaks had been added into it. He wore a black T-shirt that hugged his slightly muscular frame, and overtop of it he wore a plain black jacket. His cargo pants hung limply, also black and matching the military boots he wore on his feet. His dark green goggles were on his forehead, and pushed his hair up slightly, showing off the 21 year olds sharp face.

"Tie him up then. We don't want him escaping when he wakes up."

Cynthia nodded, and her spider legs grew from her back again. She removed the strands binding his wrists, but soon his arms were attached to one of the walls, more webs binding them. Eterna stepped forwards, and she placed her hands on the bindings, where they flashed green for a moment before it died down.

"I'm going to assume Fairy Tail will be preparing a rescue attempt. Go and give them a few hints, will you? After all, it would be rather _boring _if the main attraction didn't get here. Tell the others to help as well," he instructed, and Cynthia grinned in glee, before she walked off happily.

"Right away, Master Tarasu," Eterna said, before following the energetic girl out of the room, closing the doors behind her as she passed. Tarasu smirked cruelly, walking towards the trapped teen.

"Soon, Decimo. Soon, the fun will start," he grinned, before laughing and heading back towards his seat, where he sat down and awaited the awakening of his new prisoner.

* * *

><p>AN: And chapter 6 is done. :D Sorry if the ending seems kind of lame or rushed, but I always have issues ending stuff it seems. OTL Anyways, thank you for all the reviews, alerts, and favourites. Two people even favourited me as an author, and I only have one story out. ._. Thank you so much though, everyone! As always, please tell me how I did, and don't be afraid to criticize! Flames shall just go towards Natsu's meals. :3 Oh, and for Chrome's speech, I decided to use Bossu since that's how it sounds when she says Boss, and I think it sounds rather cute and makes her stand out more. ^^ Total word count is 6746 words this time. .-. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed chapter 6, and I'll try to get chapter 7 out as soon as possible. Ciao!


	7. The Beginnings of a Rescue

A/N: Sorry for the wait. My Internet crashed, so I couldn't upload the chapter until we fixed it, which took quite a while. OTL Ah well. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter anyways. :3 The word count came out to 5357 words. I think the chapters are getting shorter. .-.

BloodyShinigami: I'm glad you like the story! ^^ Sorry, I'll try to keep the updates quick, but I'm not the fastest person at them. _ _

Anime-VGsUltimate00: Good to know you're anticipating this chapter. ^^ And yes, Tsuna must be kidnapped. -w- Yes, Blood Moon is the guild. I'm happy to know that you liked the name. I personally thought it was kind of iffy, but I couldn't think up anything else. ^^' Ah well. I'm not sure if I can make the enemies likeable at the end or anything, but oh well. Villains are supposed to be hated, right? xD And yes, Ryohei is an idiot. Though I guess there wasn't much time to heal Tsuna either way. *shrug* In the end, I couldn't just leave out a specific guardian. And I too feel bad for Hibari. If he doesn't murder Fairy Tail it'll be a miracle. Oh, and the reason why all the guardians were in one place was that Ryohei was pestering Hibari to join the boxing club, and then Mukuro decided to show up and agitate him, so they ended up getting ready for a fight when Reborn showed up. I always try to make description my number one goal in my writing, since vague things that are confusing and hard to visualize annoy me. ^^' I also try to keep the grammar as clean as possible, but when I'm my own beta reader it doesn't always work out that way. And I'm shocked that you could actually read the story that many times. ._. Ah, and I have no idea who invented homework. I'm sure that they're hated world round though. Poor them… xD

KatrinaKHR27: Glad you liked the chapter. ^^ The villains plot will be explained over the next few chapters, though some of it is mentioned here. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll get Lambo in here. Reborn had sent Nana on a 6-month cruise so she didn't wonder where Tsuna was, and of course she ended up taking I-Pin and Lambo with here, so… yeah. ^^' I'll try to feature the Vongola group more.

The KHRfairytail addict: Sorry about the rings. I often find myself wanting to write them, but ah well. _ _ Anyways, Tsuna's fate will be revealed throughout the next chapters, with only a hint in this one. ^^' I hope you'll keep looking forward to the updates. :3

Aoi No Sora: I'm happy that you're excited with this story. ^^ I'm going to try and have more parts featuring the Fairy Tail group and Vongola, but the next one will probably have a lot more Vongola in it due to the plot. OTL Anyways, I'll try to give them more script!

Cael05: Sorry if the plot's a bit predictable. I'm trying to add surprises in as often as possible though. ^^' It shouldn't be too long before Tarasu's knowledge is revealed, but until then he's not telling anyone. :p It makes me happy to know that you await my updates. ^^

VongolaFlame101: I don't know why, but for some reason I just love this crossover. Like you said, it is quite interesting. -w-

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: I'm glad you think the plot was unexpected. ^^ I wasn't sure whether or not I could pull off a cliffhanger or not, but apparently so! And yes, it is really Gokudera's fault for Tsuna's capture. OTL He's pretty sulky in the chapter, but not too much. I think he's the most OOC person I have in my story. .-. Ah well. And yes! I did see the new chapter! I ended fan-girling. XD It is pretty sad that they didn't have Squalo in it though. ;A; He amuses me greatly. -w-

XSega789: I'm happy that you're exited for the chapter. I'll try to keep my updates as fast as possible. ^^

I think I've blabbered on for way too long. OTL Anyways, please enjoy chapter 7 of The Flame That Crosses Dimensions! :3

* * *

><p>Back in Fairy Tail, everyone was hurrying to prepare weapons, medicine, first aid kits, and anything else they would need for the battle. Upstairs, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy were planning with Makarov, Mirajane, and the guardians. Wendy had also joined them, as she had become a close friend to Tsuna over the past week.<p>

"We can't have everyone rush in to save him. That would just lead to defeat. I think that we should have a main force attack and distract the guild, while a smaller group goes to find Tsuna."

Makarov nodded in agreement with Erza, and looked over everyone that was there. Gokudera still seemed depressed that Tsuna was taken because of him, but it wasn't to bad since he was going in to save the brunette soon. Yamamoto only had a small smile on his face, as he was also worrying about Tsuna. Ryohei had no clue what was going on currently, but for once was quiet, knowing that something had happened to Tsuna, though he had no clue what. Mukuro and Chrome surprisingly both had grim faces, though Mukuro mainly looked that way because he didn't want anything to happen to the teen before he possessed him. Hibari was, as usual, standing away from the group, but if you looked closely you could see a glint in his eyes, as he was anticipating getting to bite strong herbivores to death. The Fairy Tail group all had serious faces on, though Natsu seemed to be the most eager for the rescue attempt. Makarov cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention again.

"Whom are we sending in then?" he asked, and was immediately answered.

"I'm definitely going to save Juudaime! It's my fault he got kidnapped in the first place, so I won't take no for an answer," Gokudera responded immediately, and Yamamoto laughed while placing a hand on the bomber's shoulder.

"Maa maa, I think I'll go to. If Tsuna's in danger, than I have to help as well."

"I'm also going to the EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled, and everyone had to cover their ears.

"Me too, Master. Tsuna's a good guy, and them knowing about the Vongola worries me," Lucy added, Erza and Gray nodding in agreement.

"I'm going. Those herbivores need to bitten to death for disrupting the peace," Hibari stated, and everyone sighed at the fact that of course it had nothing to do with helping their boss.

"I'm definitely going as well, Gramps. No way can I stand back when someone hurts my friends," Natsu growled darkly, and Makarov nodded, before turning to the last two people.

"I-I would like to help out Bossu," Chrome weakly said, and Mukuro just let out one of his creepy laughs.

"Kufufufu, I can't let Chrome go in alone, so I shall also be going. Plus, I still need to possess the Vongola Decimo, and I can't have others interfere with that just yet." A smirk lifted his mouth up slightly, and the Fairy Tail group had to wonder if Mukuro was actually a comrade or not. Makarov sighed, and wondered how in any way this was a small infiltration force, but shrugged anyways, The more people they have, the better. He knew that this was going to be a tough battle, and he hoped that all his children would make it through safely, as they began discussing battle formations, teams, and other things.

* * *

><p>Tsuna groaned lightly, and felt a small burning pain in his arms, like they were being held above his head for too long. He realized that they were, but when he tried to tug them back down, they didn't budge and he felt something on them keeping them in place. Groggily, he opened his eyes. Tsuna blinked a few times before everything came into focus, but when it did, he froze up. The large, dimly lit circular room he was in could only be described as creepy, especially with the blue candles. The whole place was made from stone, and glowed eerily in the light, shadows flickering through the whole thing, though he had to admit it looked slightly pretty, like moonlight was illuminating the place. Glancing at his arms, he saw that though his wrists were no longer tied up, he now had his arms encased in the web and firmly set against the wall. He tried tugging again, but they wouldn't even budge, like when Yamamoto had hit them with his sword. He felt a jolt of alarm course through his body as he remembered his friends, and immediately scanned for them. He didn't see any other figures tied up though, and he just hoped that he was the only that got kidnapped.<p>

"Ahh, you're awake."

Tsuna quickly turned his head over to where the voice had spoken, and saw a man probably in his early twenties smiling at him, sitting on a chair at a circular table in the middle of the room. The brunette shivered as he met the red eyes of the stranger, but couldn't force himself to look away.

"W-who a-are you? Wh-where am I-I, a-and what happened t-to my friends?" he stuttered out, and he cursed his habit of being speech impaired when nervous or frightened.

"So many questions, Decimo? Well, my name is Tarasu Rinen. I'm the leader of Blood Moon, which is the guild that attacked you and your friends. Right now, you're in our guild's building, and as for your friends, who knows. Probably planning a rescue attempt or something silly like that."

Tsuna felt relief as he heard that his friends were okay, but couldn't help but wonder about one thing.

"W-why do you kn-know that I'm V-Vongola D-Decimo?"

Tarasu laughed joyfully at the question, grinning.

"Well, that's an interesting story there. But I don't plan on telling you just yet. Let's just say that we have some… connections," he teased, and Tsuna glared at him.

"T-then why did you k-kidnap me? Even if you d-did kill me and bring down the Vongola, i-it's not like it would help you in th-this world," he questioned, and he was happy that he was managing to get his stuttering under control.

"To bring down Fairy Tail of course. When they come to rescue their precious boss and friend, then that will seal their fate. Cynthia and Akito should have the hint to our location set up tomorrow, so it's only a matter of time until we can finally crush them.

"What! Why w-would you do something like that?" he asked, shocked. As far as he could tell, even if Fairy Tail was rowdy, they didn't do anything to make someone hate them that much. Tarasu's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Tsuna could see smothered rage beneath them.

"They were the ones responsible for my city being completely destroyed intentionally, as well as my parent's death," he hissed out, and Tsuna's eyes widened at that.

"Th-there's no way they would do something like that. That definitely wasn't the-" His sentence got cut off as he gasped for breath. He tried to take a deep breath, but he only filled his lungs a quarter of the way with oxygen. He didn't know what had happened. One moment he's talking and breathing normally, and the next, it was like he was in some kind of air vortex. His chest was now burning with the desire to breath, and he felt light headed at the lack of oxygen. Suddenly, the precious element was filling his lungs again, and he took deep breaths, having nearly suffocated to death even without anything on his mouth, body, or even being underwater. He coughed lightly, and glanced up at Tarasu, whose eyes were glaring fiercely at him now.

"You think a damn brat like you knows Fairy Tail after being here for a week?" he snapped, making Tsuna cringe at the anger in his tone.

"They might not listen to the council's complaints, but when they get an order, they're just like the rest of the guilds. The council had always looked down on my city, since we didn't have a single wizard in it and shunned using magic for everything, instead using our own strength to get things done. They felt that it was intolerable and an act of defiance against them, but they couldn't do anything as we had done nothing wrong.

One day though, three mages came into our town. Though we disliked them, we treated them well, and they stayed for a couple of nights at one of our motels. However, when they found out we had no magic at all in our town, they laughed at us, and called us primitive and stupid. They then started destroying docks, a house, market stands, and just to prove how powerful magic was. So we did what anyone else would do, and attacked. They may have had magic, but we had numbers, and they took a severe beating before they retreated.

Next thing we know, there're Fairy Tail members swarming our peaceful city and destroying every building within sight. My mother and father had hid me in a safe place, but they couldn't fit in it, and had to look somewhere else. Then a mage was in front of them, and he just laughed when they asked him why they were doing this. It was orders from the magic council, to destroy the town that dared to oppose magic, going so far as to beat up defenseless traveling wizards. And if the false accusations weren't enough, he crushed another building right in front of my parents, which belonged to our best friend. My father attacked the mage for it, but he just dodged, and then killed him. He killed my father for trying to protect the town, and then he also murdered my mother, who had only been standing there. Right in front of me, he killed my parents. And when he turned, I saw the shoulder mark clear as day, marking him as one of those Fairy bastards.

You say they wouldn't do anything like that? That they're a sensible guild that doesn't harm innocent people? Then how do you explain them murdering people and destroying the whole town. Only half of us survived, but we couldn't rebuild our town. Not after that. So everyone went his or her separate ways. I eventually found someone who hated the legal guilds as much as I did, and together we learned magic to fight back. Eventually we made it to Blood Moon, who welcomed us with open arms. We were trained to become stronger while we were there, until soon we were two of the strongest members.

Now I'm the second master of this guild, and I can finally have revenge on the guild that ruined my life. No mercy, like they didn't show us any. But it's only the start. After we take down Fairy Tail, other guilds will come in revenge. We'll take them all out, until light guilds are weak and pathetic, and no longer exist in this world.

And that's when we can take out those snivelling idiots who call themselves a magic council. The ones who only care about everyone following their power."

By the time he had finished his story Tsuna was in shock. Fairy Tail, the guild that had welcomed him without many questions, the one that had laughed with him, talked with him, did something like that?

"I-I don't b-believe it…" he muttered, eyes wide. Suddenly he felt like he was punched in the gut, even though Tarasu still sat on his chair, and no one else was in the room. Another invisible punch came, harder than the last, and he coughed as it hit him harshly. The invisible force continued the assaults, and by the time it was over, Tsuna was coughing, and his stomach felt like it was torn in two.

"Don't believe it, eh? Ah well. Not like it matters much, so long as I can kill them all."

"N-no way. They're way to strong for that. You won't be able to take them out," he gasped, still regaining his breath. He heard footsteps clicking on the stone, and his lowered head could see Tarasu's legs approach, before stopping in front of him. A hand harshly gripped his chin, and forced him to look upwards, and straight into the cold, hard red eyes of the guild master.

"Who ever said anything about _me _destroying them, Decimo?" he grinned, and Tsuna stared blankly at him.

"Y-you did. You said you couldn't w-wait to bring them down."

Tarasu's grin grew wider at that, and he laughed, somewhat maniacally.

"I said I'll bring them down, but never by my own hands! No, that would be far too easy for those bastards. The one to kill Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, and the others until they can't take the betrayal anymore… will be you, Tsu-na-yo-shi~!"

* * *

><p>"Oiii! Akiiitooo! Would you hurry up already? Geez, you're so slow."<p>

Cynthia was standing in a park with a large cheery blossom tree, tapping her foot impatiently. It was the middle of the night, so everyone in Magnolia was currently asleep. She was wearing her goggles currently, and watched as Akito walked towards her, not hurrying in the slightest. He was tall, with shaggy orange shoulder length hair and was wearing his own pair of goggles, which were black in colour. He was wearing an open black vest overtop of red tunic, and matching red wristbands as well as black pants tucked into brown combat boots.

"You're just to fast, Cynthia. Enjoy your surroundings for once, would ya?" he said teasingly, rubbing the much shorter females head playfully until she swatted his hands away.

"At least I don't sound like an old geezer, and walk as slow as one too," she taunted, sticking her tongue out at him before spinning around and running off, a fuming Akito racing after her. Within the next five minutes, they reached a large building with a bell at the top, as well as a familiar flag hanging below it. Walking past the outdoor tables, they reached the doors. Cynthia pushed on them, but pouted when she discovered that they were locked.

"We'll have to leave it outside, Akito," she said, sad that they couldn't put the piece of paper actually inside the guild.

"It doesn't really matter. Just as long as they can see it," he replied, and Cynthia shrugged as her spider legs grew from her back again. Using a small amount of her web, she secured a piece of paper to the door firmly, making sure it would stay. Retracting the parts, she faced Akito again, who had a weird look on his face.

"What?" she asked, thinking something was wrong. He shook his head slightly.

"You know, no matter how many times I see that happen, it still creeps me out," he said emotionlessly, earning him a hard whack on the head.

"Ow! Hey, come on, Cynthia! You don't find it slightest bit gross to have extra limbs come from your back?"

"No," she deadpanned, and walked back the way the came, Akito saying apologies as they went, only to earn him a punch to the face.

* * *

><p>Lucy reached the guild rather early the next morning, having been unable to sleep, as she was far too worried about Tsuna. It seemed that Gray, Erza, Happy, and Natsu were the same, as they were all sitting at one of the outdoor tables. Gray was the first to notice her, and waved her over, before looking back at something on the table, which Natsu, Happy, and Erza also seemed to be examining. As she reached the table, she saw that they were looking at a piece of paper.<p>

"What's up?" she asked, curious.

"This was on the guild door this morning," Gray sighed, and spun the piece of paper around to face Lucy. She noticed that they all seemed slightly angry and annoyed about something, and guessed it was due to the paper, which she quickly read.

_Hello Fairy Tail,_

_ I trust that you are all well? Probably planning an escape plan for your dear Tsunayoshi, am I right? Well, good luck with that, since you probably don't even know our guild's location! Well, since Master Tarasu doesn't want you all to miss out on the big surprise we have in store for the young Decimo, he told us to nudge you in the right direction. Below is a code, and if you decipher it, it will tell you our exact location! Fun, right? Aaaanyways, we'll be waiting for you all to arrive, and then the real fun can start. See you all soon then!_

_Cynthia and Akito_

Lucy's face darkened as she finished the letter, but she examined the code. It looked like complete gibberish to her, as half of the letters were one language, the other half another, and then there were numbers thrown randomly in the mix. Unfortunately, neither of the languages were her native one, nor even the language that runes used. She wasn't like Levy, who could read other languages, or crack even the toughest code, and knew immediately she wouldn't be able to solve this.

"Can you read it, Lucy?" Erza asked, looking at the blond who had her eyebrows furrowed. After a moment, Lucy sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't even recognize the languages. And even if I did, I can't read other ones like Levy can, or… wait, Levy! She's bound to know how to solve this!"

The others faces, which had held ones of disappointment, lifted at this. Unfortunately, Levy had yet to arrive, so they ended up sitting and waiting for her, as more of the members filtered through towards the guild, all of them ready for battle any time they moved out. Finally, over an hour later, Levy walked into the courtyard beside Jet and Droy, all of them locked in a conversation until Lucy ran up and hugged Levy, surprising them all.

"Lu-chan? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Levy! We need you to solve this code!"

A piece of paper was thrust into her hands, and she scanned it, Jet and Droy also reading it over her shoulder.

"I'll get to work on it right away," she replied, before briskly walking into the guild and settling down at an empty table in the corner that was relatively quiet. Lucy followed her, sitting down in the seat across from her as Levy began writing down notes on a piece of paper she got somewhere. Lucy looked over at Jet and Droy to see them holding tons of reference books, as well as multiple spare pencils and paper, and she sweat dropped as she figured out where Levy had suddenly gotten everything. Natsu was pacing around the entrance, agitated at the taunting, while he waited for Levy to crack the code. Erza had gone off to inform Makarov about the note, and Gray was currently leaning against one of the pillars on the main floor as he too waited, and Lucy could see Juvia hiding as she watched him, no doubt lost in her weird fantasy's again. The guardians, who were all currently staying at the guild, were in various places, though they had to wonder how Hibari had managed to get into the rafters, even if it was just to escape the noise and crowding. Ryohei, Yamamoto, and Gokudera all sat at the bar, the two sports players chatting, while Gokudera was smoking and thinking about the best way to save Tsuna. Mukuro and Chrome where in one of the corners, talking quietly amongst themselves, though the conversations didn't last to long.

The celestial mage sighed as Levy continued writing down things, and she had to wonder how the small teen could still work as Jet and Droy had started their encouragement cheering again. An hour had passed, and Natsu had nearly paced himself into a rut, while Happy just sat on a handrail, munching a fish happily. Levy wrote down one last thing, before she jumped up excitedly.

"I cracked it! I know the location of their guild!" she exclaimed suddenly, catching everyone's attention as news of the note had already passed through the whole guild.

"Great job, Levy-chan!" Lucy congratulated, and Levy smiled sheepishly. Makarov had now made his way over, and jumped onto the table.

"So where is it?" he asked, and Levy quickly organized everything she had into a proper location.

"It's in the heart of a forest, always underneath the shadow of a mountain. It's roughly a two hour walk to it, but that's all they say."

Makarov nodded, as he knew where she was talking about.

"It's a rather dangerous part of the forest, since the only light that goes through is from the moon. It's probably under a spell to keep the sunlight out, though we don't know why."

"Then what are we waiting for? We need to go and attack those bastards now!" Natsu yelled, energetic as usual. Makarov looked over everyone, who all seemed determined to go and help the brunette.

"Anyone who would like to stay behind and protect the guild is welcome too, and all those who will come and attack Blood Moon, we're heading out now," Makarov stated, before he began walking to the exit. Most of the guild followed him, with only a dozen or so staying behind so that their guild wasn't completely defenseless. The guardians, Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Carla, and Happy followed right behind Makarov, as they were to infiltrate the base to find Tsuna. Unbeknownst to the group, red eyes were currently watching them, before the one they belonged to flashed out a wing and swiftly disappeared, easily overtaking the large group as she headed in the same direction as them, though at four times the speed.

_It's going just as you planned, Master Tarasu, _she thought silently in her head, and continued on her way back to her guild.

* * *

><p>The guild members plus guardians had been walking for over 2 hours now, and wondered when they would be reaching the supposed guild. They could see the mountain through the thick foliage, and had been walking in its shadow for quite a while now. Hibari had long since gone ahead, unable to stand being crowded by herbivores, and the rest made their way towards their target at a more leisurely pace, though their footsteps were still swift. Another five minutes of almost complete silence passed, before Hibari suddenly re-joined them. Makarov didn't take more than a few steps until the guild came in view. Gokudera raised an eyebrow at the cloud guardian, since he hadn't attacked everyone by himself for once, but the prefect made no attempt to respond in any way. The rest of the group already knew that the guild was just up ahead, and had spread out now to form a larger line for the attack.<p>

The guild was located in a clean-cut clearing, maybe a mile or so from the mountain's base. It was quite large, with two floors, and it seemed to be made of stone. Though it wasn't the tallest structure, it definitely made up for it in area. Two large steel doors barred the front entrance, which were set strongly into the building around it. There was no cement underneath the actual thing either, only bare ground where grass had been killed. The only windows on the whole structure were a few around the first floor, but even those were sparse.

Natsu was the first person to move forwards, but as soon as he touched the clearing, he had to jump back as an arrow staked into the ground where his foot had been a moment ago.

"Oh, so Fairy Tail finally decided to join us, eh?"

"About time. We thought that you had chickened out."

"Nice to know you didn't abandon that pathetic, scrawny brunette kid."

Multiple voices teased from the darkness, and they stepped into the lighter shadows. Fairy Tail was shocked to see what seemed to be all of the members of Blood Moon already waiting for them, but no one made a move to attack yet.

Before anyone could retort though, Hibari just started walking forwards calmly, basically ignoring the fact that over 100 enemies stood before him. Everyone except for those who knew him stared in shock, wondering how much of an idiot he had to be to walk straight towards the enemy line. Suddenly, a flash of fire rushed towards him, engulfing the figure. The other team laughed at the easy kill, while Fairy Tail stared in shock. The guardians however, smiled, grinned, or smirked, and their group was confused as to why they weren't at least a little bit sad at their comrade's end.

They looked back at the pillar of flames still burning however, when the members of the dark guild stopped laughing, and their eyes widened in shock. The flames died down, and in front of them was a group of large purple spiked spheres, forming a perfect barricade. They shrunk until they disappeared, and Hibari stood there, perfectly unscathed as Roll happily landed on his shoulder.

"I'll bite you herbivores to death for disturbing the peace," he growled.

"Roll, cambio forma."

The small hedgehog flashed white, and soon Hibari was wearing the black trench coat again. Blood Moon, having finally snapped out of their shock at the fact he came out perfectly fine, charged forwards, and Hibari swiftly began attacking them. Fairy Tail also realized what was happening, as they too ran in, and soon both guilds were clashing against each other, the two teams nearly perfectly matched.

Erza, Lucy, and Gray had started skirting the outside of the field, heading towards the guild. Soon, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, Chrome, and Mukuro were also following, and Wendy ran after them, Carla in tow.

"Hibari! We need to go!" Happy yelled to the skylark, and he snapped his head up, glaring at the Exceed. However, he swiftly left the conflict – or moreover blew a path through it – and also headed towards the guild entrance. He had thought it would be amusing to bite the herbivores, but they were way too weak to be of any use.

"You're not getting past us!"

The group halted their run to the guild, as three members guarded the entrance. Natsu, impatient enough of having had to wait so long, just charged forwards, knocking out all of them within the next few seconds. Turning to the door, he raised his fist, which was engulfed in flames, before snapping it forwards. It crashed into the steel heavily, which bent heavily, before finally snapping at the force, falling into the building. A group of around twenty men were waiting inside, but upon seeing the group, they let out blood curdling screams before fainting. Natsu blinked in confusion.

"What… just happened?" Lucy deadpanned.

"Kufufufu, it seems they all have some pretty horrific nightmares locked in their heads."

They turned to see Mukuro smiling as he held his staff, before dispersing it and laughing again as he walked past the group, Chrome following behind him closely.

"Remind me to _never _get on that guys bad side," Gray muttered, and the others nodded in agreement, before following the mist guardians, keeping at least a meter of space between them.

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><p>AN: And finally the main fight starts. Sorry if this chapter was a bit slow or boring. The next ones should pick up though. ^^' I'll be trying to keep the updates as fast as possible, as per usual. :3 As always, please review and criticize. I have come to realize that reviews are like an authors food source. It's keeps one motivated. -w- As alwas, Natsu will be happy to eat any flames thrown at him. Anyways, see you all next chapter! Ciao!


	8. The Challenges Start

A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! ;A; I didn't have much time to write this week, since a flute ensemble needed a harp player for one of their songs, and I had to go to a university to practice the piece. OTL Plus I really fell behind in school, and had to keep staying afterwards to catch up. And then fanfiction decided to be a jerk and not let me get this story into the Doc Manager for however long. TAT *sigh* Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter. Though it's rather short, quite a few key plot elements are in here. ._.

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: Your reviews always amuse me. XD Though I must say I'm quite curious as to what you're prediction was. owo And it would be rather amusing. I wouldn't be surprised if Natsu would have burned the paper up in annoyance. w Is it possible to get salt rushes? *clueless face* Squalo is an awesome character, as are Hibari and pineapple head. *stabbed in head with trident* ;A; Unfortunately, I haven't seen the light novels. But I'll keep looking!

KatrinaKHR27: It's good to know that I was able to feature the guardians more! ^^ I'm happy that you look forward to the updates as well!

The KHRFairytail addict: Ah, I too am sad that I can't use the rings in this timeline, but ah well. _ _ I quite enjoy the Vongola gear though. :3 And their flames will be getting featured in due time. *nods* I was happy to get to use Levy, since personally she's one of my favourite Fairy Tail characters. I can't help but love bookworms. -w- Anyways, I'll try to keep updates quick, or at least faster than this, which hopefully will be possible without concert things and homework catch up. OTL

Aoi No Sora: I'm happy that the chapters are getting better as they go along, rather than worse. ^^ Again, I'll try to keep the updates quick.

Caeol05: It's always good to know that the plot isn't cliché and predictable. lwl I'm always eager to hear everyone's guesses on the stories next plot turn or takes on events, so feel free to state any ideas you think are going to happen. ^^ I'll keep updating whenever possible, for sure!

BloodyShinigami: I'll be explaining everything soon. Very soon. _ _ And I think I'll be doing something with the Vongola vs. Fairy Tail. I'm not sure yet. Oh well. Ah, and you probably noticed, but your email address didn't show up, so I can't email you right now. ;A;

Mafia Princess: I'm happy to know that you've been following the story! And I'm also glad that you decided to review. XD Reviews have become my staple food. -w- I'll keep updating as fast as I can, as always!

I hope you'll all enjoy the next instalment, even if it rather short compared to the others. *bangs head against wall*

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><p>Mukuro and Chrome still led the group as they walked through the halls of the large guild. Everything was dimly it, the only illumination provided coming from candles placed evenly on the walls. Like the exterior of the guild, the walls were made of stone, almost like what one would see in a castle. The floor had a red carpet laid down as well, but it was flattened from use, as well as stained from dirt and mud being carelessly trekked across it. Behind them were Erza and Natsu, with Gokudera and Yamamoto closely following. Ryohei was practicing his punches occasionally as he walked, with Lucy and Wendy beside him. Gray was slightly behind them with Happy and Carla, and of course Hibari was rather far behind, avoiding them as much as he can. All of them were silent. They had no clue about the layout of the place, and it was practically like walking through a maze with all the twists and turns. With the possibilities of enemies anywhere, they deemed it best to stay as silent as they could, though Hibari was moreover silent because he had no interest in speaking to any of the 'herbivores'. Not to mention that he was extremely irritated that the pineapple heads were leading them.<p>

Mukuro's mismatched eyes glanced around as he walked. He could feel something, like they were being watched. However, there was nowhere to watch them from, since the walls were solid as was the roof, and he would be able to pick up someone's presence if they were following them. Chrome also seemed to have sensed this, since her single eye was also glancing around easily.

'_Mukuro-sama…'_ she thought in her head, having a mental conversation with the older male. He glanced over at the girl beside him, before looking away again.

'_Kufufu, I know, my dear Nagi. I sense it too. Though I have to admit that it's a bit disconcerting that I can't pinpoint their location.'_

Chrome if anything looked more worried as the words registered in her head.

'_Do not worry though, Nagi. I won't let anyone hurt you,' _he added reassuringly. A soft blush adorned the purple haired girl's cheeks now.

'_T-thank you, Mukuro-sama,' _she thanked silently, and Mukuro only smiled lightly in response.

During the time they had been talking, the group had made a few more turns and were even further into the seemingly endless building. The mental conversations died down, but they could both still sense the presence. Mukuro stopped suddenly, as did Chrome, and the others also halted.

"Mukuro-san?" Lucy questioned, but before he could reply, a part of the floor swiftly opened. It was directly beneath the two illusionists, and was too large for them to reach the edges. Mukuro and Chrome were about to use illusions to catch themselves, but the door closed above their heads, plunging them into darkness. They were still falling, but a light shone beneath them. They burst out of the apparent vertical tunnel, and the light surrounded them, much brighter than the dark and gloomy halls they had been in for the past 15 minutes. Blinking rapidly, Mukuro's eyes adjusted first, and he caught both him and Chrome with lotus vines, like when they had arrived. Chrome's eye had now also adjusted, and she glanced around uncertainly. They were being lowered into a dome shaped room, with only one apparent door at the far side, as well as the one they had just come through. The room was very large, though around the outside there only seemed to be a pit, making the mist guardians wonder how deep the guild went. The floor itself was completely empty of any furniture, as was every else, the only decorations being the many torches around the walls, as well as small, non-fancy chandeliers from the tall roof. If they were to describe the room as one word, it would be 'simple'.

Reaching the floor, they nimbly jumped down, landing with grace. They could both sense the same presence that they did before, but it quickly cut off. No more than a few seconds later, and the door at the far side of the room was opening while a man walked through. Chrome stepped back slightly, while Mukuro moved forwards, staff already in hand and protectively crossed in front of the two. The man wore a dark, navy blue cloak that wrapped around his frame completely. It was tied with strings in the front and had sleeves where white-gloved hands poked out. It was completed with a large hood that was currently pulled up, masking the stranger's face.

"Kufufu, and who might you be, separating us from the others and interrupting our mission like this?" Mukuro asked calmly, but inwardly he was frowning. He could feel power radiating from this person, as well as something else. He wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't feel like all the magic vibes they got from the other's in this world.

The man didn't respond, only continuing to walk closer to them, having bolted the door closed behind him. He was now ten feet away from them, and finally decided to stop.

"Are you Rokudo Mukuro and Dokuro Chrome, the Vongola Mist guardians?" he asked, his voice sounding like someone in their mid-twenties. Mukuro visibly tensed, as did Chrome. How did he know so much about them?

"Kufufu, and what makes you say that?" he asked cautiously, and the man's head tilted up slightly, revealing his mouth which was currently pulled into a smirk.

"Ahh, so they were right. You did come here to rescue Sawada Tsunayoshi, the tenth Vongola boss."

He grabbed hold of the strings at the neck and pulled lightly at them, the knot unfurling as he slid his cloak off, letting it fall to the floor beside him. He wore a silver, chinese styled shirt with matching white gloves. Around his neck was a small, contrasting black scarf that matched the trousers he wore, and on his feet he had white hiking boots. His hair was pulled into a ponytail that went to his mid back, the colour a light green. He wore his goggles on his forehead, which pushed up slightly wavy bangs, though they still reached his chin. The illusionists could see the edge of something red on the back of his neck, and assumed it was were his guild symbol was located.

"My name is Toshiro Lee. Under orders from Master Tarasu, I am to prevent you two from coming any further."

"And what about our group? Are they not still moving on?"

"I am too only take care of you. Five other members shall take care of your friends, as well as a… surprise, enemy."

Mukuro narrowed his eyes slightly at the last sentence, as he could sense a hidden meaning behind it that oddly enough filled him with dread. Behind him, Chrome's visible eye widened at Toshiro's words.

_Everyone…_ she thought worriedly, and Mukuro glanced at the violet haired girl over his shoulder.

"Kufufu, don't worry about the others, Nagi. They won't be taken down by some weaklings, they're too stubborn for that," he laughed, and it was hard to tell if his words were meant to be a compliment or an insult. The green haired man showed no concern about any of this, and only shrugged as pulled one of his gloves on tighter.

"It doesn't concern me as to what happens with the others. My job is to only make sure that the two mist guardians can't move any further."

"Well, I'm sorry to say that you are quite outclassed," Mukuro smirked, before tapping his staff on the ground. The familiar plant tendrils sprung form the ground, and Toshiro barely dodged in time. He had too keep moving quickly, or else risk being ensnared. After a minute of dodging, Mukuro tapped the floor again, and the place where he was about to dodge too suddenly had a pillar of fire erupt, and he skimmed it with his arm, barely manoeuvring out of the way in time. Toshiro jumped back as another fire column burst out, but swore as he looked down at his feet. He had forgotten about the plants strands still snaking through the room, and one now had a firm grasp on his left ankle Another quickly grabbed the other leg, and more came to secure his arms. Before he could do anything though, a flame column erupted right beneath him, and he screamed as he was engulfed in it. Mukuro smirked in satisfaction, while Chrome looked on with wide eyes. She stared into the fire for a few moments, before the violet eye widened even further.

"Mukuro-sama!" she called quietly in alarm, and he raised his eyebrow at her. They furrowed down in confusion however, when the screaming cut off. He had killed many people before, and he knew what screams sounded like when they ended in the fire. This one however, was deliberately cut off. A soft chuckle came from within the flaming pillar, and a moment later, the illusions were dispelled. The man was standing there, looking no worse for where. Not a single singe marred his outfit, and neither did any thorns or scratches despite the plants having dug into his skin deeply.

"Ah, so that's what they were talking about. I must say, I am quite interested in how it is those without magic power can create illusions. But never the less, I sadly cannot find out how your powers work when you're dead. Pity."

Before either of the illusionists could move, they suddenly found him in front of them, and two swift, but hard and powerful punches, sent them flying backwards, Chrome further than Mukuro. She coughed lightly and sat up, as did Mukuro, sans the coughing of course. He went over to Chrome and offered his hand, pulling her to her feet easily. Suddenly, his right pupil seemed to blur, before the kanji for the number four was there, a light purple flame coming out from the red eye. He rushed forwards at the exact same moment that Toshiro did, and they met each other halfway. The adult raised one of his arms, easily blocking Mukuro's attacks. Said pineapple hair snarled in annoyance, as attack after attack was deflected, the older male almost looking bored. After another few hits, he seemed to disappear, before he was suddenly at Mukuro's back. He elbowed him powerfully, sending the mist guardian onto the ground harshly. He kicked Mukuro before the teen could even stand up again, and he rolled with the hit, slightly lessening the damage.

Another five minutes passed, but Mukuro still couldn't land a hit on the superiorly faster man, and he was tiring out fast. Toshiro was about to land a roundhouse kick on Mukuro's chest, but he had to use the momentum to throw himself to the side. Where he had been standing a second before was now covered in needles, each of them easily lodging into the ground. He glanced behind him to where Chrome was gripping her trident, while two people stood in front of her. One was rather tall and slim, and he wore a white beanie on his head with cheek-length black hair. He had rectangular glasses overtop of his purple-grey eyes, and oddly enough there was a tattoo on his cheek that looked like a barcode. The other wasn't as tall, and he had shaggy blond hair, the bangs held to one side with multiple clips. His eyes were a golden brown, a large scar crossed the bridge of his nose, and his canine teeth were rather long for a human. They both had rather similar outfits that matched the illusionists. Mukuro glanced up, albeit shakily, at the two newcomers and let a small smirk creep over his lips. Toshiro meanwhile, had narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing something off.

"Those are illusions, aren't they? I am the only one able to open the doors to this room, and there is no damage to indicate a break in. Judging from all of this, the only explanation is that those two are fakes."

Chrome's eye widened slightly, as the green haired man seemingly figured this all out with a glance.

"That is for you to decide," the teen with the glasses, Chikusa, replied. Already having his yo-yo's out and spinning, he flung them towards Toshiro, who dodged again when needles shot out. Ken, the blond haired one, inserted a set of teeth into his mouth, and a lion face appeared on his cheek. His hair grew longer as well as becoming a dark orange colour, with matching fur spreading over his hands. Paw pads were on his palms as he had long claws, as well as his canines were now even larger. He lunged forwards, swiping his hand forwards and skimming Toshiro's skin as he flipped over Ken, landing lightly. He frowned at the small wound on his arm, which was bleeding slightly.

"Once you realize something's an illusion, it shouldn't be able to harm you. So why… Unless…"

He trailed off, and looked closely at Ken and Chikusa. He could spot small, almost invisible amounts of purple mist coming off of them, and a glance back at Chrome revealed that the same mist was coming off of the end of her trident.

"Ahh, now I see," he drawled, relaxing slightly, "You've finally decided to become serious."

A hardened look appeared in his eyes, and Chrome tightened her grip on the trident. Mukuro, now beside her, also tensed.

"Then I guess I should as well."

As he finished saying the words, a large flash of light came from him, and the two illusionists had to cover their eyes because of it. The glare soon died down, and they blinked to quickly adjust their eyes. The solidified Ken and Chikusa illusions had evaporated, but that wasn't what shocked them.

"R-rain flames…" Chrome stuttered. Circling around Toshiro were now bright blue flames, which were immediately recognized as the distinctive rain attribute ones that Yamamoto, Squalo, and Basil all used. The flames were coming out of a ring on his right index finger, the glove having been pulled off.

"Kufufufu, seems like we underestimated our enemy, Nagi…" Mukuro laughed, though he too was tense as they took in the form of Toshiro in front of them, who let out a small grin, before the flames raced towards the mist guardians.

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><p>Tsuna suddenly felt pain shoot through his upper arm, and his eyes flashed open from the uneasy sleep he had fallen into. He let out a sharp yelp, and glanced at the limb to see a wound on it. In front of him was Tarasu, who was now walking over to his table, wiping down a knife with a white cloth, which was quickly turning a deep crimson. Tsuna hissed lightly as the cut stung his arm, and a bit of blood began dripping onto the floor, the shirt he wore having already soaked through. Turning his attention over to the table now, he saw that someone else was in the room, though he couldn't see their face to well.<p>

"Sorry for the rude awakening, Vongola, but I need to introduce you to someone who holds quite a bit of power."

A chuckle resounded from the room, the voice a smooth tenor.

"You flatter me, Tarasu. But I don't hold nearly as much power as the Vongola does."

The addressed man, now sitting in his chair again, merely grinned.

"Ahh, but you will soon," he laughed back, before gesturing for the stranger to go and meet Tsuna, who's wound had stopped bleeding already, though it wasn't to painful after having his arms already go numb from their prolonged position. The shadowed man stood as indicated, before taken slow, leisurely steps towards Tsuna, still in the shadows that plagued the room.

"I've been meaning to meet you, Decimo. I was just a bit preoccupied with some other things though, and thus couldn't free myself until now. I must say, it was quite a shock to find out you were now in a different world."

Tsuna's eyes widened at the last words, his intuition spiking again. He noted that it seemed to be doing this a lot since he came to this world.

_I-it couldn't be. This man…_

"Hahaha, you've probably guessed already, haven't you? It's nice to meet you, Vongola Tenth."

He stepped forwards again, now only a foot away from Tsuna, and finally the shadows that had clung to him melted away. The man had slightly long, dirty blond hair and brown eyes, and he almost looked like a more mature Dino with darker hair. He wore a simple pair of black slacks and shoes, as well as a white dress shirt and black tie, though at the moment it was undone, as were a few buttons on his shirt, showing off his chest a bit.

"I'm Enrico Shalet. Sorry that this all had to be done in this situation, but ah well. That's what things are like for us in the mafia, am I right?"

He grinned as he said the last line, and Tsuna's eyes widened even further as his suspicion was proved correct.

"As you may have guessed already, I too am a mafia boss, the twelfth generation boss of the Serato famiglia. It is an honour to meet you, I must say, though… the effect is thrown off pretty far with you tied up like this."

"S-Serato f-famiglia? I h-haven't heard of you g-guys before," Tsuna stuttered, and Enrico only smiled.

"I'm not surprised, with you having only found out about the mafia recently. Anyways, I hope you haven't been treated _too _poorly here. You need to be able to fight some pretty strong opponents after all, though only two are likely to attack."

Tsuna gulped. And got a terrible feeling about whatever this mans plans were.

"W-what do you-"

"Mean? Oh, you're trusty hyper intuition hasn't told you yet? Doesn't really matter though I guess. But what say I start from the beginning, hmm?" he asked with a grin still plastered on his face, and Tsuna knew that this wasn't going to end well... for him or his friends.

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><p>"Oi! What the hell just happened to the two pineapple freaks?"<p>

The group of guardians and mages stared in shock at the ground where the two people who had been leading had disappeared, without a single trace left, or even a crack in the floor from where the opening had been. Gokudera growled again, before taking out his dynamite. Everyone hurriedly shuffled backwards – much to Hibari's annoyance – as he lit and tossed them, landing on the ground where the opening had been for a second before setting off. The large explosion wracked the hall way with vibrations, though luckily the smoke cleared swiftly. The silverette was dumb-founded as he stared at the floor, which wasn't even marred with a scorch mark. Just as he was about to yell again, Yamamoto came up and patted the bomber's shoulder, calming him down.

"Maa, maa, I'm sure those two can take care of themselves," he laughed; only earning himself a growl and muttered insult. Hibari strode past them, his mood slightly lighter now that his rival was gone, and continued on his way, ignoring the others.

"A-ano, I think we should hurry after him, before we get left behind," Lucy suggested, sweat dropping, before she, Gray, Ryohei, Wendy, Natsu, and the two Exceeds ran after the disciplinarian prefect. Erza sighed, and also headed after them, though she walked calmly, and was accompanied by a laughing Yamamoto. Gokudera just blinked as they rounded the corner, finding himself left behind. He glanced back at the floor, crouching down and thoroughly looking it over, but still nothing was there. Scowling, he straightened up, before running after the group, yelling curses all the way since they left him behind. He couldn't help but worry about the other two though, and he had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

_Pineapple freak, you better make sure you help Juudaime. _He growled in his head, before continuing through the halls to his find his precious boss.

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><p>AN: And in the end it was only 4008 words long. OTL Anyways, I've had two people mention things about Vongola against Fairy Tail battles, so I'm thinking of making another story for those, where you can request battles you might want to see, and different rule sets as well. I'm not sure though. So please tell me if you want me to start something up like that or not. ^^ Anyways, again sorry for the shortness, I just saw it as a good place to cut off. .-. As always, please keep reviewing! Like stated before, it's what keeps an author going and motivated. -w- Flames shall be eaten by Natsu, but feel free to yell at me to hurry up. XD Anyways, I hope to see you soon, and I'll look forwards to your feedback and opinions on everything. Ciao!


	9. The Mist and Rain Clash

**Two people have asked about writing out battles between Fairy Tail and Vongola members, and I personally quite like he idea. I want to know though if you would like me to write about them. I'd make a separate story for it where I can take requests for it and stuff, but I want to know all of your opinions first! :3**

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><p>AN: And I got the next chapter out. -w- This time it's longer at least, with 5166 words. *cheers* Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. A lot of upcoming ones are mainly going to be featured around battles, though I'll see if I can get some other stuff in. If you want it that is. ^^'

Kaggie101: It's good to hear that I brightened your day. ^^ I'm happy that I managed to give you a story type that you were looking for as well I always enjoy kidnapping characters in stories. xD I was also happy to be able to put in all the guardians as well, sans Lambo though. I feel kind of bad for laving him out, but ah well. _ _ Anyways, it's always good when people are up to date with the manga in their stories, otherwise it can get kind of annoying if they have false data. OTL I'll keep the chapter coming quickly!

Aoi No Sora: I have a soft spot for those two I think. Especially Chrome. So many people make her useless and weak, it saddens me. ;A; Anyways, happy that I can improve m stories instead of butchering them. xD

KatrinaKHR27: I'm happy to be able to write about them so much. -w- I'll keep the chapters as long and detailed as I can for sure, so hopefully they'll continue to be enjoyable!

The KHRFairytail Addict: Yeah, I'll be using quite a few things for their properties in battles. Unfortunately, Hibari won't be featured yet, I'm saving up his battle But it'll be enjoyable regardless. :3 I hope you'll enjoy it when it comes out!

BloodyShinigami: Eheh, sorry about the shortness. lllOTL I just wanted to get the chapter out quickly, plus I found it the best place to cut off, sooo, yeah. Anyways, I think fanfiction is blocking you're email, but it should work if you put spaces in it. Could I bother you and ask that you try again? ^^'

Mafia Princess: I'm always happy to be able to write about the two pineapple heads. *stabbed in head with trident* Erm, yeah. I also had fun with writing about Ken and Chikusa, though I'm sad that I can't really fit any of their dialogue in it. Unfortunately, the Fairy Tail members have a small part again this chapter, but the next one will show them a lot more at least! ^^' So please be patient with me. OTL

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: It's fine if the review is late, I'm just happy to get them at all. ^^ I'm not sure why either. I just always seem to end up laughing when I read them, and they brighten my mood a lot, as well as my writer's drive. -w- Some parts of your prediction were right, but it's a bit more complicated than that… I think. I might have epically failed with it, but ah well. _ _ Natsu probably would burn anything he can though, just to amuse himself. xD I'm glad that you like the whole boss thing, though I'm still a bit iffy on his name. *shrug* Meh. And of course the pineapple heads won't lose! Hibari would probably go on a rampage if he found out someone bit Mukuro to death before he could. *stabbed again by trident and wacked by tonfa* Urgh, I should stop saying those things I think… Anyways, you didn't mention that there were five light novels. I really want to read them now though. xD I didn't think it was so easy to get a salt rush though. :3 I'll keep it in mind for when the chance arises, though I'll have to get sea salt first. ^^'

Inumimi-chan: I kind of feel bad for Tsuna as well, which is probably pretty sad coming from the author, but meh. xD Anyways, Tsuna will be fine by the end of fic! Does that help at all? owo;

Anyways, enough of my blabbering. Enjoy chapter 9! :3

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><p>Mukuro slammed his staff into the ground a moment before the rain flames reached them, and put up a wall of his own flames. He ground his teeth as he could feel the attack penetrating, the calming nature of the rain slowing down his defense. Seeing that Mukuro was struggling, Chrome quickly stepped beside him, and put up her own wall, combining the two, until the last of the flames dispersed. They stood there for a moment, panting, before glaring at Toshiro. He stood calmly, watching them with cold and calculating eyes, before dashing forwards quickly. Mukuro could only blink before he was in front of them, and a booted foot slammed into his chest, sending him flying back a few feet.<p>

"Mukuro-sama!" Chrome yelled, before turning back to Toshiro. She lashed out with her trident, but her opponent merely jumped back, avoiding the sharp edge. She quickly lunged forwards with her trident, only to have Toshiro catch the end. He swung it around and threw it, Chrome still holding on, and she skidded a few feet before stopping a little bit away from where Mukuro was. His eyes narrowed in anger that someone had hurt Chrome, but he still remained calm. Swirling his staff around, he sent a blast of mist flames at the green haired man, who calmly blocked it. While he was doing this though, Mukuro's right eye now had the kanji for 1 in it, the Path of Hell. The ground cracked around them, the parts that broke off slowly floating upwards. He had fire burst out through the cracks, completely surrounding Toshiro. The mentioned man however, merely blinked, seeing through the illusion and returning everything to normal. Mukuro changed his pupil again, now reading 4 with his dying will flame around it, as he charged in for another confrontation with his enemy.

Meanwhile, Chrome had staggered to her feet, wincing at the scrapes that now covered her legs and arms, some of them bleeding slightly. She watched wide-eyed as the two confronted each other, though Toshiro's speed still well exceeded Mukuro's. She could sense something was off though, since no matter how skilled one was, to move that fast without some kind of trick is impossible. She closed her eyes in concentration, feeling a disturbance in the ground. Opening her eye again, she crouched down, and closely examined the stone floor. With a jolt, she saw a blue flame flicker through it, and realized that the whole floor was infused with rain flames.

'_No wonder he's so much faster, if we're being slowed down by these flames.' _She thought, before narrowing her eyes in concentration. She placed her trident on the ground, both hands flat on the handle, and concentrated flames into it. The trident magnified the power and volume of the flames, and she set them into the ground, where they began to mask and distinguish the other ones.

Mukuro raised his staff, blocking another punch aimed at him, though barely.

'_Damn it,'_ he growled in his mind, '_how can this guy move so fast?"_

Toshiro blinked calmly again as a kick came to his side. He moved his hand to block it, but suddenly Mukuro's movements sped up dramatically. The move landed on its target, and he was flung to the side a few feet, where he stumbled to his feet again, holding his now aching side. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced behind Mukuro to where Chrome was, and saw the mist flames coming out of her hands.

"So, you figured it out? I guess I'm surprised."

Chrome glanced up from her progress, her eyes slightly fearful, but still determined.

'_Mukuro-sama, the ground's infused with rain flames to slow us down. I can counter them with my own, but I'm not sure how long…' _she silently informed him through a mental connection.

'_Kufufufu, thank you, Nagi. I'm sure it'll plenty of time to defeat Toshiro. Just keep it up for a bit longer.' _

Chrome nodded in response, a look of determination in her eyes. Mukuro turned his full attention back to Toshiro, who was still looking at Chrome.

"You shouldn't ignore your enemy, you know," he laughed as he charged forwards, deftly ramming the hilt of his staff into Toshiro's gut, making him stagger slightly. The older male grabbed the staff and shoved Mukuro back, but the illusionist quickly ran forwards again. He aimed a kick at the Blood Moon members other side, only to have it caught. Swinging down his staff, he hit the arm holding his leg in place, and heard a satisfying crack as it came in contact. Toshiro hissed as he let go, and could feel a small fracture in the bone. He narrowed his eyes yet again, before straightening out of his attack position. He let out a small laugh, which slowly grew. Mukuro and Chrome watched him warily, as the sound echoed around the circular, but large room.

"Hahaha, I guess it's about time I showed you my real powers, hmm? It's been so long since I got to."

Suddenly, Mukuro felt the ground tilt. Glancing down, his eyes widened as saw the whole floor cracking, though it wasn't an illusion. The edges of the floor came apart, and soon started attacking the illusionist, who had to dive to avoid the chunks. Rolling to the side, he escaped getting crushed by another one, before smashing them all with columns of fire formed from the first path and solidified with flames. Getting to his feet, he quickly flipped backwards, as Toshiro slammed his foot down where he had been a second ago, cracking the ground around him.

"Hmm, so you're magic can control ground I'm guessing?" Mukuro asked with eyes still narrowed. Toshiro merely shrugged in response, before charging in for another hand-to-hand conflict. Mukuro smirked, knowing that without the rain flames they would be equal in fighting skill. He quickly blocked a hit from Toshiro with his arm, before sending in his own, as they fell into the familiar steps again.

Chrome was still outputting her flames, as she watched the battle go on. She had used about twenty percent of her power already, and she really hoped Mukuro could finish soon. She looked on as Toshiro charged forwards and engaged in close combat again, but her eye widened as she saw something surrounding his fist while the two fought.

"Mukuro-sama! He has rain flames on his hands! Getting hit is going to slow you down!" she warned, and Mukuro glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, acknowledging her words. He hadn't noticed, as he was too absorbed in the fight, but now he could feel his arms becoming sluggish as the rain flames took affect. With a quick output of his own mist ones, he dispelled all of the negative affects. Toshiro merely raised an eyebrow in surprise, before increasing the flame output on his hands. Mukuro dodged another punch, and took a step back to prepare for a kick. However, he stumbled as his foot landed halfway on a stone left from one of the destroyed boulders. Seeing his chance, Toshiro quickly kneed Mukuro in the chest since he had leaned over to regain his balance, before landing a hard punch to his face. The pineapple haired male was sent flying backwards, landing beside Chrome.

"Mukuro-sama! Are you all right?" she quickly asked worriedly, but Mukuro only gave her a pained smirk as he got back up to his feet.

"Kufufu, it seems I can't take this guy out by myself. Nagi, I require assistance."

"B-but, if I remove the flames from the ground…"

"Do not worry about that, Chrome. If we put flames on our feet, it should be fine against the ground."

Chrome still looked uneasy, but nodded anyways, trusting Mukuro. She stopped the output with the flames, and stood up. She could already feel the affects slowing her down, but after she put the flames on her feet like Mukuro said to, the effects lost their grip on her and she returned to regular mobility.

"Kufufu, as much as I would enjoy playing around a bit longer, I'm afraid that we must hurry and save Tsunayoshi. After all, it will be quite troublesome if I can't posses him and bring down the filthy mafia."

He smirked, and nodded to Chrome. She held out her trident as mist began streaming from it, gathering in front of her. Soon, Ken and Chikusa were standing in front of them, solidified with the flames like before. Mukuro pointed his staff at them, and shot out a burst of his own flames, each infusing with the two illusions.

"Shall we finish this now, Chrome?" he asked, and Chrome nodded in response, wanting to go and help her boss. Ken and Chikusa got ready to fight, Ken inserting the wolf channel teeth, while Chikusa took out his yo-yos. As if on a silent command, they all charged forwards simultaneously, a plan already formed between them all.

Chikusa flung his weapons forwards, again flashing out the needles. Toshiro effortlessly dodged them again, but as he was about to land he saw the lotus flower vines ready to ensnare him. He flipped, throwing off the direction that he was going in and landing safely, but as he did so, Ken sped forwards, opening his mouth and getting ready to bite him. Toshiro flipped backwards again, but he swore silently in his head as the lotus vines from before wrapped around his right arm when it touched the ground. His feet landed firmly on the ground, and he quickly tugged on his arm, only to wince as the plant tightened its grip. Just as he was about to weaken it with his rain flames though, he had to duck, as yo-yos passed through the spot where his head had been a moment ago. Quickly undoing the vines ensnaring him, he morphed the ground around his feet, rising high above the enemies. His eyes widened though, as Ken got a running start and easily leaped onto his platform, using his cheetah channel to reach him. He switched to the Rhino channel within a moment, and rammed into the shocked Toshiro. A few feet from the ground however, the green haired man regained his bearings. Grabbing Ken, he switched around their positions swiftly, and flung the teen into the ground before wrapping the ground around him and applying pressure, effectively crushing and dispersing the illusion. He nearly had his arm ripped into though as another Ken attacked him, and he realized that Chrome and Mukuro would just keep making replacements.

Mukuro took a stance in front of Chrome, who was the main supporter of the illusions, as Toshiro looked over at them. The green haired male charged forwards, and Mukuro met him halfway. Toshiro growled at him, but had to back up as another round of needles were sprung form Chikusa. His eyes narrowed in anger, and Mukuro's smirk fell off his face as he noticed a change in his demeanour. His red eyes slowly turned into a colour that perfectly matched the shade of his dying will, and suddenly the rain flames erupted from around him, swirling quickly and creating a breeze from their sheer velocity. Mukuro gazed warily at him, before is eyes widened when he took in the sight of Ken and Chikusa. They were being slowed down dramatically, and slowly eroding away, despite their extra reinforcement form Mukuro, which basically made them completely real and solid.

"Kufufufu, this doesn't look to good Nagi. We need to wrap this up now."

Chrome immediately understood what Mukuro meant, and her eye widened in shock.

"But, Mukuro-sama," she whispered, however, the illusionist merely smiled comfortingly at her.

"I shall be fine, my dear Nagi. Just don't let me down."

Chrome nodded determinedly, taking a battle stance. Mukuro smiled, before closing his eyes and letting some flames surround her. He faced Toshiro again when he was done, the man only having a natural face, before he speed forwards, swiftly reaching Mukuro. The purple-blue haired man smirked as he raised his staff in defense, but as he expected, he was easily pushed back. He activated his vines, which wrapped Toshiro's legs, but they were turned into dust as the circling rain flames viciously attacked them.

"M-Mukuro-sama!" Chrome cried out, but he only smiled again.

"I'll be fine, Nagi," he reassured, but Toshiro only narrowed his eyes.

"I beg to differ," he stated emotionlessly, before ground swarmed upwards, locking around Mukuro and only leaving his shoulders and above free. The man turned coldly towards Chrome, who took a step back in fear. She cried out as the ground suddenly shifted beneath her, sending her tumbling to Toshiro's feet. He picked her up by her neck, leaving her gasping for breath as she feebly clawed at his hand.

"Nagi!" Mukuro yelled, his eyes showing the fear he felt. He tried to use any of his powers, but with him locked in the rock, especially with it coursing with amazingly strong rain flames, he couldn't do anything.

"Stop it already, you bastard!" he snarled, but Toshiro merely gave him a bored look.

"My job is to make sure you two cannot move any further. Even if I locked you both in the ground, I know you would only escape a bit later. From these observations, the only way to halt your progress is to kill you both," he informed them, before clenching his hand tightly on Chrome's neck. Her eye widened a she gasped for air, before her body went limp. He dropped her, where she crumpled lifelessly to the floor.

"Chrome!" Mukuro yelled, and he felt rage burn up inside of him. His own flames began leaking out, and they easily overrode the rain ones. The ground surrounding him held fast though, and he glared at Toshiro so hard that even Hibari would flinch. Toshiro merely looked at him un-amused, knowing this would be what would happen if he killed Chrome. He raised his hand, and was about to crush Mukuro, when suddenly the illusionist laughed, all feeling off malice evaporating.

"Kufufufu, kufufu, kuhahaha!"

Toshiro was taken back at the reaction, before his eyes widened when he felt another presence. He quickly spun around, only to have a trident stabbed into his stomach. He held the shaft as pain coursed through his body while blood soaked the silver shirt, contrasting harshly with the colour.

"I told you before, didn't I? Don't turn your back to your enemy," Mukuro laughed.

"Y-you…" Toshiro stuttered out, before the weapon was removed, causing another wave of blood to spill out. He felt his consciousness slip away due to the blood loss, and he fell to the floor, knocked out, as his blood continued to run and create a puddle around him.

The rock holding Mukuro in place began crumbling, and with a quick jerk, he broke free. He gasped for breath a little, since the rock had been squeezing his lungs, but other than that he was fine.

"Mukuro-sama!" Chrome yelled worriedly, rushing over to the older male. Her illusionary form evaporated, as did the last of the cloaking flames, which Mukuro had been powering.

"Kufufufu, good job, Nagi," he smiled, before falling to his knee.

"Oya oya? It seems that I used up a bit to many flames at once. I feel quite drained."

He closed his eyes, and soon slumped over onto the floor, unconscious due to exhaustion. Chrome looked over him worriedly, but knew it was just tiredness that was affecting him. She was torn between staying with Mukuro and going to save Tsuna, but in the end she decided to stay. She couldn't leave him alone in case an enemy came into the room, and she trusted the others to help Tsuna.

'_Everyone, please save Bossu. And Bossu… stay safe.' _she thought slightly worriedly, but settled down on the ground beside the sleeping Mukuro, covering Toshiro up with some illusions to avoid having to look at the crumpled body or pool of blood. She sighed, and Mukurou soon exited his cambio forma, flitting over to her shoulder before landing peacefully, ready to wait with Chrome for the other to awaken.

* * *

><p>Hibari was stalking calmly through the hallways, making swift progress, though he had to admit that even he was getting annoyed at the endless maze of them. That plus the fact that a group of herbivores were following him around really didn't help his mood much. Natsu and Lucy followed closely behind, along with Gray, Carla, Happy, and Wendy. Gokudera walked a few steps away with Ryohei oddly enough, while Yamamoto and Erza brought up the rear, even the baseball player slightly tense and silent as they walked. Hibari made another turn, before he stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced at his Vongola Gear bracelet, which was lighting up currently. Spinning around, he saw that Gokudera's belt, Ryohei's bangle, and Yamamoto's necklace were all doing the same thing. A small white light suddenly burst out of them and collected together in the middle of the group, and what looked to be a window opened up in mid air. Lucy, Happy, and Wendy all let out a yelp of surprise, while Gray, Natsu, Erza, and Gokudera narrowed their eyes. Hibari and Carla also narrowed their eyes, while Yamamoto laughed in amusement with Ryohei yelling 'Extreme!' for the first time since they entered the guild. An image of Chrome appeared with Mukurou (1) on her shoulder while she held her trident, while Rokudo Mukuro lay unconscious still in the background. She wore the Vongola Gear now, and a light matching the others was shining from it.<p>

"Chrome! What happened to Mukuro! Are you okay?" Lucy asked worriedly, her concerns mirrored by most of the others, not including Hibari. She nodded shyly, not used to the sudden attention.

"I-I'm fine, and so is Mukuro-sama. He's just tired from using to many flames."

The others were slightly surprised at that, wondering what could have happened that they would possibly need to use that much power, but stayed quiet as Chrome continued.

"We met an enemy that was rather tough, though managed to defeat him luckily. But I need to tell you something really important! The man not only used magic that could manipulate the ground, but somehow could also use-"

She was cut off as a strong distortion cut through the transmission, and soon the image faded, as did the lights from the Vongola Gear.

No sooner had they all glanced around to see if an enemy was nearby, than another trap door opened, this time beneath the two sword wielders, Erza and Yamamoto. They both let out a slight yelp off alarm as they fell, but it was cut off as the door closed again.

Natsu stepped forwards, intent on smashing the door through, or using some other means to get to them, but suddenly a wall of wires sprung forwards, completely blocking them off from the previous path they took. Natsu, undeterred, punched right at them, only to have the wires bend effortlessly around his hand. The coating around them began sapping at Natsu's flames, and he quickly withdrew his hand. Lucy called out Cancer so he could cut them, but even he couldn't severe through them, the coating again deterring the attack and leaving behind no damage except to the scissors. Gokudera growled irritably, but knew that they couldn't move back to get to their friends. Hibari began walking again with the bomber in tow, and Gray, Natsu, as well as Happy followed reluctantly. Ryohei soon jogged after them, as did Carla and Wendy, and Lucy sighed while closing the celestial gate again, and soon followed after the group. They all just hoped that their friends would be okay.

* * *

><p>Tsuna gazed warily at Enrico, who had pulled up a chair and sat in front of him. The man shifted a bit to get a comfortable position, before starting.<p>

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of us before, having been raised outside of the mafia and all, but our famiglia is rather large, with an even longer history than you Vongolas. Your group was created around 73 years after the Serato family, at the end of the second boss's rule. We had been one of the most influential Famiglia's at the time, but soon Primo surpassed us. We lost sponsors, members, and respect, but as the years went by we managed to stabilize everything out. The Vongola stayed above us though, always pushing us back if we got to close to them. However, I knew that if we could destroy you all, we would be restored to our former status, as one of the most powerful, if not the strongest, mafia groups. And what better time to take out the only qualified candidate for the next generation, than when he was in another world?"

By the end of this, Enrico was smirking, pleased with the whole affair.

"B-but, there's a-always Xanxus that could take over. And how did you get here anyways? I don't think Reborn would send over an enemy boss…" Tsuna trailed off at the last line, shuddering.

'_Actually, he probably would, knowing him,' _he mentally groaned.

"Ha, we both know that Xanxus can't become boss, mainly because the Vongola rings won't even accept him. But honestly, it wasn't that hard to figure this all out. All we had to do was stick a bug in your house, and we heard the whole plan between Reborn and Giannini before he even started working on it. And of course, our technicians are a lot more skilled than that worthless one of yours, even with Spanner and Shouichi helping. So it was simple to make a machine before you could, and with the proper deals made, easy to set this whole thing up. I destroy the Vongola family, and Tarasu can destroy Fairy Tail. It works out for the both of us."

He shrugged, grinning, and as Tsuna ran through the whole plot in his head, he realized that they really did have a good chance of accomplishing everything.

"What about my guardians though! As well as Natsu and the others! There's no way you could against all of them!"

Tarasu decided to speak up at this time.

"We already thought about that, Decimo. Our guild is riddled with traps, so it will be a synch to separate the little rescue group and take out all your friends one by one."

Tsuna noticed now that the man was looking at what seemed to be a hologram, which was currently facing him, and Tsuna had to wonder if they used machines or magic for it. His captor reached up and turned the device around, which made Tsuna nearly gasp out in shock, his eye's widening a bit as he saw the screen. It seemed to be streaming a live image, and in it he could see a rather tall green haired man, as well as two familiar pineapple haired figures. He was even more shocked that large amounts of rain flames were currently spiralling around the man, and soon Mukuro was trapped in an earth prison. He watched helplessly as the man flashed in front of Chrome before picking her up at the neck, choking her. Small tears beaded in the corners of his eyes, and his voice caught on a lump in his throat as she crumpled down to the ground, dead.

As expected, Mukuro's anger began leaking out rapidly and in large amounts, but the man merely raised his hand, probably ready to finish off Tsuna's other mist guardian. The teen froze in confusion however as Mukuro began laughing, and suddenly Chrome appeared, alive, as she stabbed their enemy in the stomach. He watched as Mukuro collapsed in exhaustion, but was thankful that Chrome stayed with the man. He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding, feeling incredible relief that both of he illusionists were alive and well. Glancing over at Tarasu, the man only had a small scowl on his face, otherwise completely unaffected by the fact that his member was probably dead. Tsuna couldn't believe how heartless the man was, as he calmly turned the device of, which, to his shock, evaporated into mist flames.

"Hn, it was to be expected. Though as long as they can't move forwards it will be fine. I'll need Cynthia to do some more setting up though," he mumbled to himself, talking about some more things that Tsuna couldn't make out. Tarasu straightened up though as he stopped his ramblings, and now spoke in a much clearer and sharper tone.

"Enrico, isn't it about time to start? After all, you did say it takes a while to complete the process, though I have to wonder when you had time to try since coming to this place."

Tsuna gave the two men a confused look, not sure what they were talking about, while the person from his world just let out a chuckle as he stood up.

"I managed somehow. Anyways, you're right. The group is still moving after all, so I'll probably only have half an hour to spare to make sure the process is complete before they reach this room. Unless they get lost of course."

The Vongola boss could feel his hyper intuition begin acting up again as Enrico turned back to him, screaming danger and yelling at him to run. Of course, he couldn't with the overly strong webs still holding him in place, and could only watch as Enrico approached him, placing his hands on the teen's temples.

"Let us start then, shall we, Tsunayoshi~?" he asked cheerfully, before a soft glow began to emanate from his hands, and Tsuna's eyes widened as sheer pain tore through his head.

* * *

><p>(1) Since the owl's name is also Mukuro, I decided to add a U at the end to make it Mukurou, so while it's still pronounced the same, you can still tell the difference between the two like Natsu and Na-tsu.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Gah, I felt absolutely terrible for killing Chrome, even if it was just an illusion! ;A; Anyways, I managed to make this chapter longer at least, and shorten the deadline! ^^ Ha… ha… erm, yeah. Anyways, please continue to read and review, they always encourage me! And as always, Natsu will be happy to eat any flames you might want to give him, and Tsuna might absorb a few of them too. owo Anyways, see you all at chapter decimo! xD Ciao!


	10. The Calming Rain and the Fierce Warrior

A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait! I had a lot of school homework, mainly social studies, plus my brother kept taking the laptop for his own homework. _ _ Not to mention fanfiction decided to be a jerk again, and let me access everything _except _the log in screen. D: Ah well, at least the chapter's long. ^^'

KatrinaKHR27: Glad you liked the chapter. Tsuna's fait will soon be revealed. (At least I think it's soon. ^^') Anyways, I'll probably give Natsu and Tsuna another chance at battle together. :3

The KHRFairytail addict: Aww, thanks for the complement, even if I only have one story up! ^^ I'll try my hardest to keep fighting scenes detailed. Nothing worse than a fight you can't follow. _ _

Aoi No Sora: I'm happy that I can keep all of you guessing, rather than keeping it predictable. As always, I'll be happy to listen to your predictions. I might just end up stealing an idea or two from them. xD

mangareader: Sorry about the wait. Hope this one will be awesome too. -w-

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: A long review requires a long reply after all. ^^ And of course Mukuro won. I'd probably be dead by now my angry 69 fangirls if I made him or Chrome lose. ._. (*cough*me included*cough*) And yes Mukuro, you were losing. *dodges fire columns* And I'm now rather curious as to what you showed him to get that reaction. xD And yes! Erza and Yamamoto! :D Yes, sadly, Squalo will be unable to join them. At least he's in the newest chapter. -w-

Mafia Princess: Happy to know that I could do them good in battle. ^^ And you shall soon find out.

RAMON JAVIER ANG: Ahh, the story sounds really good! I hadn't watched the familiar of Zero before, but I just finished season one. Once I'm don with all the episodes, I'll be sure to start on it. *is now super hyped for it*

Soul of The World: Don't worry, I won't abandon this story! I've mentally bashed enough authors about it, so I would then be bashing myself if I did that. I love this story too much anyways. -w- I'll finish it to the EXTREME! *fire burning in eyes*

Kawaii-chan: Updates here! ^^ Hope you'll enjoy this and future chapters!

Roith and Lorette: Ha ha ha, you're review greatly amused me. I appreciate the singing that I have been awarded, even if your sister doesn't. And probably not the window either. .w. I have yet to completely watch Hetallia actually. I _was _watching it with my older sister, but… *glares at sis* Ah well. I hope you'll keep reading and enjoying the story! xD

Enough of my rambling then. Enjoy chapter Decimo! xD

* * *

><p>Yamamoto and Erza landed heavily on a floor, not having had enough time to stop their fall. They stood up slightly pained, and immediately looked around. The room they were in was rectangular, with a very high ceiling, and they were thankful that they didn't get hurt anymore than they did from the long fall. The wall, floor, and even ceiling all looked to be made of steel, with random scraps lying around. Wires ranging in thickness from very fine to at least the size of golf balls snaked across the floor, and would be rather easy to trip over. All in all, the room was rather… messy, and looked like something Spanner would probably live in. Blinking, they looked up to where they had fallen from, only to discover the whole ceiling perfectly smooth. Not a single crack, bulge, or even hinge was in sight.<p>

"Hahaha, well, this is unexpected," Yamamoto laughed, rubbing the back of his head casually. Erza was still looking around, but stopped when she heard his voice. She glanced at him before examining the walls.

"Yeah, but we need to figure out how to get back to the others now," she replied after a moment, and Yamamoto looked around too, both still standing in the middle of the floor where they had fallen. A sound broke through the silence however, and their eyes widened slightly as the ground at the far side began to bulge. With a sickening groan, it finally sprung apart, and a figure leaped out. Before he could fall back through the floor, the ground immediately closed again, and he landed on it with not a single crack or disturbance in sight, just like the ceiling. The man was wearing a deep red cloak, though the hood was pulled down, revealing slightly long, dirty blond hair with chin length bangs parted in the middle. Cold, grey eyes stared back at them, calculating something silently.

"Whoa~ Sugoi! (1) What kind of special effect was that?" Yamamoto asked, smiling. Erza glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, sweat dropping at how dense the baseball player was. The enemy merely chose to ignore the question, and mainly addressed Erza instead when he spoke, labeling Yamamoto –accurately– an idiot.

"Fairy Tail's Titania and Vongola's Rain guardian, I presume?" he asked, and Erza's eyes narrowed at him. Even Yamamoto's smile dropped, as he realized that something was up, especially if the man knew about them. Erza was understandable, but to know about the Vongola meant danger.

"Hmph, this shouldn't take long," he muttered to himself, and Erza and Yamamoto could feel a killing intent beginning to leak from the guy. Reacting quickly, Yamamoto already had his Vongola gear activated, the two swords in hand. A flash of light, and soon Erza was equipped with a white and pale blue-based outfit. A headband with bows on either end adorned her head, and large shoulder guards were also added. Her gauntlets were now thicker, and she had single piece outfit, the end splitting into a few sections, almost like flower petals. She had stockings reaching up to her mid thighs on underneath slightly shorter armour covering her legs and feet. Her hair was drawn back in long braid with a single large, blue bead at the end, a few strands free and still hanging in front of her shoulders. In her hand was a long staff, the end of it topped with a large circle, two prongs that almost looked claw like emerging from the top.

"Lightning Empress Armour," she stated, as the glow faded away. Yamamoto whistled in awe, before turning his attention back to the enemy. He rushed forwards, swinging down one blade. As expected, the enemy jumped back to avoid the hit, and as he landed the sword wielder smashed a hilt into his gut. The figure leaned over and coughed, and no sooner did Yamamoto dash away did a large lightning strike attack the man, causing him to yell out in pain. Yamamoto took a few paces back so he was beside Erza, and it seemed that the attack had set fire to the cloak, bright red flames engulfing it. The man quickly ripped it off of his body and threw it to the side, where it continued to burn into ashes. The green dress-shirt he wore underneath was now slightly singed, as were his black pants and matching hiking boots. But what shocked them were his hands, which were previously covered by the sleeves of the coat. They were completely metallic, the silver only ending a bit past his wrists. It was easy to tell that they weren't gloves, and rather his actual hands.

"Hmph, I guess I shouldn't have let my guard down like that. Ah well," the man spoke up again, giving them a shrug, before staring intently at the two sword wielders, though one currently had a staff of course.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Milo Granite, one of Master Tarasu's most trusted and powerful members. As I'm sure you've noticed, my hands are of a cyborg nature. You can of course, blame the light guilds for that," he added, but did not elaborate. Suddenly, he jerked his hands upwards, and Yamamoto felt his foot pulled out from underneath him, resulting in him hanging upside by one leg. A quick glance over to his side confirmed that Erza too had been caught, her staff having clattered to the ground unlike Yamamoto's sword, which was still clasped firmly in his hands.

Looking down at his feet, he saw a thick mass of wires surrounding his ankle, holding him in place above the ground, no longer lying on the floor. He raised his blade and swung it swiftly at them, the thin metal severing. He landed harshly on his back, grin back in place though, as he let out a pained chuckle. Quickly righting himself to his feet, he raised his arm so he could cut Erza free. As he moved to swing his arm though, he felt resistance, and glancing back saw more wires now firmly holding his arm in place. Multiple other strands shot forwards, immobilizing all of the baseball player's limbs, and soon others attacked his neck, choking him slightly. He glanced over at where Milo was, to see him calmly striding forwards, heading towards the two trapped sword wielders. Yamamoto's mouth turned into a nervous grin, and a bit of cold sweat gathered on his forehead as the wires on his right hand tightened, forcing him to also drop his weapon.

"Not good." He choked out.

* * *

><p>In the room where Tarasu sat, coughs and gasps ran out around the room. Enrico had stopped his attack a few seconds ago, and Tsuna now hung panting, coughing as the air filled his lungs after the extreme pain. His head felt like it was going to split for the past half hour of torture, and he felt confusion as to what they were hoping to accomplish with this. Now as he glanced up though, his mind felt oddly blank, almost empty, as the last few thoughts he had had flew out of his mind as well. His eyes glazed over slightly, and he glanced at the two people in front of him, both men having smirks plastered on their faces. He tried to remember their names, and he searched through his empty mind to find them. He glanced at the one sitting, and the name 'Tarasu' popped up, which he assumed to be right. He looked at Tarasu's companion, the one that had… what had he done? Tsuna felt like he should know, but as he tried to recall something in his now only slightly pulsing head, he couldn't remember. 'Enrico', was it? He nodded slightly in conformation of the name. But… why did he feel such ill temper towards them? They hadn't done anything. He glanced at his still bound wrists. Okay, maybe they might've, but it couldn't be something bad enough for him to feel this burning hate and rage inside of himself at the sight of them, could it?<p>

As he was lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice the two men now exchanging words.

"Is it done?" Tarasu asked, slightly impatiently. As much as he had enjoyed the screams emitting from Tsuna's mouth, he could only listen for so long without doing anything.

"Not yet. The process is only half complete. I need to input next now that I've erased them, though that'll take a lot longer than the first phase. Once it's done though, it will be flawless."

"Why did you stop then, instead of just going straight forwards?" the man questioned, annoyed further.

"If I did the whole thing all at once, there would be a higher chance for errors, plus he might suffer brain damage. I, too, also need to rest to restore my magic power for the next step. Even if I gained the ability via machine, it's still limited to my power like yours," Enrico responded, scratching his blond hair lightly. Tarasu shot him a look of frustration, but didn't say anything. Instead, he just let out a rather loud sigh, before standing up, his chair scratching the floor slightly as it was pushed back from the sudden movement.

"Well then, I can't stand waiting around here any longer. I'll trust you to finish up here. I'll be back in an hour to check up on you though."

Enrico nodded in conformation, and the black haired man swept past him. He glanced over at Tsuna as he passed, the brunette only staring back at him blankly. Giving a small chuckle, he continued on his way, and soon stepped out of the room, the brighter light only flooding the place for a moment before the doors closed again, shutting the two remaining people in a dark gloom again. Enrico sighed, and plopped himself down on a chair around the table, slowly feeling his new found magic powers flooding back into him, though it would take at least five minutes to restore enough for the second phase. He glanced at Tsuna, who seemed to be lost in though again, though Enrico had to wonder what he could possibly think about in that near empty mind of his. The only thoughts and memories he could access now were all info and statistics, nothing else. He felt a small smile grace his lips though, albeit a cruel one, and the Vongola heir stared back at him, completely non-suspicious. A laugh ran out from his mouth, echoing around the room, before his eyes returned to the helpless teen in front of him. His smile grew into a grin, and he knew his plan would work, and he would finally restore the Serato family to its original glory.

* * *

><p>Erza saw Yamamoto soon immobilized again by wires, and Milo strode towards the two. She closed her eyes and concentrated. The only sound in the room currently was the slow tapping of the enemy's footsteps, and soon they were nearby. Drawing out energy from within her body, she felt the familiar surge of magic go through her body, and she tensed as she felt her clothing alight from her body. Faint glimpses of light shone through her eyelids, but it quickly died down. She lashed out one of her swords, and landed gracefully on her feet unlike Yamamoto. Snapping her eyes open again, she lashed out two long blades at Milo, who jumped back in mild surprise. He quickly scanned over her new outfit, as she slashed again, this time cutting Yamamoto's bonds. She wore slightly flared red pants, large yellow flame patterns decorating the bottom of them. In her hands she grasped two long, slim, silver blades with gold handles. Her hair was tied up with a green band, two strands of hair hanging free like in her previous outfit. Only white bandages covered her chest, but they were tightly wound, and were securely fixed in place. She glared at the man fiercely, but he only stared back, not even flinching.<p>

Adjusting her grip on the blades slightly, she charged forwards, one of them in an offensive position, while the other defensive. Milo quickly waved his hand, and one of the scrap pieces of metal lying around formed into a thick shield, blocking the sword attack. Erza relentlessly attacked, the strikes seeming never ending, but each one blocked with the thick shield.

Yamamoto's eyes flashed as he watched the battle, and realized Erza was giving him a chance. Masking his presence and footsteps as much as he could, he quickly made his way behind Milo, who was too occupied with Erza to realize his disappearance. Rushing forwards, he raised both blades, and a step away from the best attack spot, Milo spun around. Another shield – not nearly as strong as the other one since it had to be made far quicker – shot in front of him, and Yamamoto's swords clashed into it, the blades crossed and forming an X. While Milo just stared calmly back at the teen, the swordsman smirked, and soon rain flames coated his blade. They gave him the extra push he needed to break through the weak shield, and it cut through the metal easily. Just before they hit Milo, Yamamoto flipped them around so the flat end of the swords hit him, but cuts still appeared over his chest.

Yamamoto's eyes widened as Milo grabbed the blades, and before the rain flames could engulf his hands, equally strong ones flared up, the colour an angry red. Milo smirked at Yamamoto's expression, and soon his own flames flared up, traveling along the blades. The wielder of the swords quickly jumped back, and slowly his rain flames calmed and extinguished the storm flames, luckily before any damage could be done to his weapons. He let out a light sigh of relief.

"That was close! Still, how can you wield storm flames? I thought only Gokudera could that," he asked curiously, blinking rather happily at the man who couldn't care less about killing him. Said man let out an exasperated sigh, burying his fingers in his hair slightly as his head slumped, before glancing back up.

"How the hell can you manage to stay so god damn happy when I'm trying to kill you?" he asked incredulously, but upon only receiving a shrug and laugh from the cheerful teen, he shook his head, deciding that no one would probably be able to figure it out.

"Anyways, some wacky technician from your world had machines invented so that we could harness your flames with these rings," he explained, holding up a ring with angry red fire leaping out of it. It was simple yet elegant, being a shining silver and rather thin, with little patterns inscribed in the sides. Not elaborating further though, he turned over to Erza, who had been about to attack him. He caught her blades with his own hands, strengthened with storm flames and the cyborg parts, before making a tutting noise.

"You shouldn't attack an enemy's back you know, Scarlet. It's rather cowardly. For that you'll be - punished!"

On the last word, which was empathized with the action, he had raised his foot and kicked the redhead squarely in the stomach, sending her skidding back but not before he set fire to her blades. She stared wide-eyed as the flames hungrily tore into the steel, wearing them down.

Seeing her predicament, Yamamoto sent a blast of rain flames towards her, which quickly attacked and over took the enemy's flames. As both flames died out, she raised her blades up to examine them. They had halved in their width and thickness, and were about as good as fencing blades now.

"The storm. Continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious storm that never rests. Judging from that kind of title, it makes sense that the flame's ability is degeneration. So don't be surprised that it's eating away at your weapons. The only reason why Yamamoto's blades are safe is because he has rain flames to counteract them."

Erza glared, and re-quipped; she now donned her Heavens Wheel armour. Another attack ensued, again with Milo blocking with his shield. Yamamoto had also joined in on the fight, but this time the blond man expected this. The swordsman was now deflecting multiple wires that were lashing out at him, as well as occasional knives formed from more scrap metal. In this room, the man clearly had the advantage over them, with him being able to control practically everything. It was easy to tell that his magic gave him control over all of these things, probably machine manipulation.

Yamamoto swung one of his swords again, cutting another wire that had been speeding towards him, which probably would have stabbed him. He stopped for a moment, panting from the effort of defending all the attacks. Erza soon jumped back and landed beside him, also breathing heavily and out of breath. Milo smirked, wires and metal floating around him.

"Ahh, done already? I guess it's about time to end this then. It's rather boring."

He raised his hands, and more scrap of metal came flying forwards, morphing and bending, as they became an entire array of different weapons. As the last one finished melding, the blades all alighted in storm flames. With a mere flick of his hands, they went pelting towards the two younger fighters. They were able to block the first dozen with their own blades, but soon two of them got through to Erza with the aid of the storm flames properties. She let out a pained yell as one of them stabbed into arm, the degeneration effect furthering the wounds damage. The other one hit her leg, and by the time she pulled the two weapons out of the wounds, the damage was rather severe. She felt like she would collapse from the pain, but she gritted her teeth together in determination. She tried to take a step forwards, but with the wound on her leg so fresh, the limb gave out from under her. She growled in pain as her arm bumped against the floor.

Yamamoto quickly whipped his head over to where Erza was in time to see her fall to the ground.

"Erza!" he yelled, but the distraction caused him to lose concentration on his own fight. A dagger quickly embedded into his wrist, hitting one of his nerves and forcing him to drop his blade as he lost control over his left hand. He managed to put out the storm flames with his own rain ones before they could do anything more, but the damage was done. He cried out in pain as a club hit him harshly on the hard, causing him to fall to his knees, a few feet from where Erza was. He heard a laugh ring out, and felt a knife dig into his side, piercing through the skin but miraculously missing his organs. It was removed just as quickly, before the storm flames could even catch fire to any part that they contacted. Yamamoto coughed painfully, blood landing on the ground in front of him, a bit now dripping down from his lips. He pressed his hand to his side, trying to stem the blood flow and though it wasn't very successful, it helped a bit. Another laugh reached his ears, and he raised his head, panting heavily with an uncharacteristic glare planted firmly on his face as his eyes landed on Milo, his vision still slightly blurry from the hit on his head.

"Rather pathetic if I must say, for the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail and the tenth generation rain guardian," he taunted, striding forward leisurely. He stopped a few feet away from Yamamoto, and in line with Erza, though still with three or four feet away from her. He grinned down at them, before crouching down to their level.

"I though that your new friend would have meant more to you Erza. But you seem to be down pretty quickly. Guess that's the strength of a bond that was made barely over a week ago," he further taunted, but shrugged his shoulders.

"I still have to commend you though. I couldn't have cared less about him if I had only known him for a week. Not sure if I would even bother to go in and help my current comrades actually, and I've known them for _years_."

He ended his sentence with a laugh, and Erza felt hate and resentment build up inside of her as she glared at the heartless man.

"You bastard, you probably don't even know what a comrade is. I wouldn't be surprised if you're shunned by your parents, and have never had a single friend in your life…" she growled out, but couldn't continue further as one of the weapons, perhaps a switch blade model, dug into her shoulder, and she yelled again as more flames degenerated her muscles around it.

"I'd keep your mouth shut if I were you, Titania. Spare yourself a painful and messy death, would you?" he asked, or moreover growled, an angry glint under-lying his eyes, the comment clearly striking a sore spot. He dropped the anger just as quickly as it had appeared though, and turned slightly to address the other teen that was still bleeding on the ground.

"But the one that really amuses me is you, Yamamoto. I thought that it would be hard to defeat you, but I was wrong. And you've known Tsunayoshi for over a year, too. Wasn't he the first one to actually become your friend, instead of using you for popularity? The one who saved you even from suicide due to your broken arm? Heh, guess that doesn't really matter to you though. If it did, then your flames would have been twice as big."

Yamamoto's eyes turned filled with pain, as the words hit him hard.

'_He's right. I should have fought harder for Tsuna's sake. He would have done the same for me, even risking his own life again for me. How many times now has he saved me? And how many times have I managed to protect him back?' _Yamamoto though bitterly, a few tears welling up in his eyes. He felt incredible regret now. Regret at not having fought harder. At not having been able to save Tsuna. Milo didn't stop his words though.

"I guess it's kind of expected though."

Yamamoto froze at the words, and looked up at Milo, who had come slightly closer, squatting only a foot away now.

"After all, who would want to hang with 'Dame-Tsuna'? The most useless and unpopular kid in the school?" he asked casually, as if he was talking about the weather instead of bashing someone right in front of their severely injured friend. Yamamoto's eyes grew slightly dark again as the words were uttered, and like Erza, could feel the hate bubbling up in him.

"I'm not sure what the boss could possibly want with that scrawny brat though. He's probably useless anyways."

Yamamoto felt more anger welling up inside of him, as the insults continued. He could stand being insulted himself, but to pick on Tsuna… His head lowered slightly, his bangs casting a dark shadow over his eyes, covering them.

"Don't…" he muttered, and Milo's mindless ramblings stopped, as he looked at Yamamoto in confusion.

"Hm?"

"You don't… insult Tsuna like that," he muttered quietly, but his voice easily pierced through the surroundings. Erza could also hear the words, and her eyes widened slightly in shock as Yamamoto's personality did a complete 180.

"You can bad mouth me all you want, but to do so to Tsuna…"

Milo stood up slowly, taking a cautious step backwards. He jumped in shock as large rain flames suddenly erupted from around the teen, the normally tranquil blue fire licking angrily at the air. His eyes widened further than they had as Yamamoto staggered to his feet, leaning on Kojirou in his sword form for support slightly. The teen raised his head, and Milo saw the rage contained in his eyes.

"To insult Tsuna… is something I can't forgive, unfortunately for you."

As the last words left his mouth, he charged forwards, wounds forgotten. Milo put up a protective shield, but the rain flames angrily attacked it, slowing it down with their effects. It was sent flying, and the one sword he could still hold quickly lashed out, slashing at him, and leaving a long cut across the man's chest. Milo coughed slightly as blood seeped out from the wound, and he realized that Yamamoto had finally turned his blade around to actually inflict damage. The attacks didn't stop though, and he could only dodge enough to avoid serious injuries, as multiple cuts laced his skin now, showing no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Yamamoto glared darkly as the enemy barely avoided his blade. He lashed out in a flash as wires were sent to attack him, and they fell to floor limp. Memories flashed through his mind, awakened from the words that Milo uttered.

* * *

><p><em>Yamamoto stood on the school rooftop, staring at the ground far below him. He felt a small flash of fear, but it was squashed as he glanced at his broken arm. Baseball was all he had in life. He couldn't do anything else. All of his '<em>friends_' only hung out with him because he was popular. In truth, he was lonelier than someone always ignored. He heard the shouts of his classmates and other students behind him, yelling at him not to jump, but he only gave him a pained smile._

"_Hey, Yamamoto! This isn't funny!" One of the students called._

"_Yeah, this is going too far!" Another one agreed._

"_Hah, I'm sorry, but that's not true. Without even baseball, there's nothing left for me," he responded painfully, followed by more cries from his classmates. Suddenly a voice rang out from through the crowd._

"_Please stop-!" _

_It was cut off, and Yamamoto looked behind him to see Tsuna tumble out from the crowd, landing on the ground harshly in front of everyone, rubbing his head slightly in pain._

* * *

><p>Yamamoto's rain flames flared even further at this particular memory. He had felt something when he saw Tsuna there, though he wasn't sure what it was. Relief? Happiness? Surprise? He shook his head, and lashed out again, the larger flames cutting slightly deeper than before, which Milo noticed immediately, as he continued to try and defend and attack while still dodging the rapid attacks.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Tsuna…" Yamamoto uttered out the brunette's name, and Tsuna suddenly seemed to panic as everyone stared at him.<em>

"_It's of no use, if you came to stop me," Yamamoto continued, now turned around completely to face the others._

"_You should understand my feelings. For someone who always fails everything and is constantly teased, you can understand wanting to die rather than failing everything, right?"_

"_Um… N-no… You and I are so different…" Tsuna responded, looking down at the ground. Yamamoto glared at him then, and gripped the rooftop's fence tightly._

"_How arrogant of Tsuna-sama, hm? Because of your recent achievements, you're better than me now I guess? Sorry for not realising sooner," he spat angrily._

"_N-no! It's because I am no good! I'm not like you, I've never put effort into anything, and yesterday I just told you to put more into your practicing so carelessly like that… It's my fault… I'm sorry!" Tsuna stuttered out, bowing slightly. Yamamoto gazed confusedly at him, as the words were uttered._

A knife managed to get through Yamamoto's defenses, slashing at his arm, but he ignored it. The memories were giving him more strength, and a larger resolve. He would definitely get Tsuna back, the boy who had befriended, saved, and enlightened him.

"_I've never had thoughts of wanting to die. Someone like me, it never once crossed my mind. Even if I were to die, I would still have regrets from my life, ones I should have fulfilled with my dying will."_

* * *

><p>Yamamoto chuckled a bit at that, since he now knew what Tsuna meant when he talked about his dying will.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>So, I'm sorry, but I can't understand your feelings, Yamamoto," he finished. Yamamoto gazed at him in shock at the words he had just uttered. Tsuna quickly grew nervous after having said that, and quickly turned around, beginning to run.<em>

"_Later!" he yelled, snapping Yamamoto out of it. _

"_Wait!" the teen responded, quickly reaching out towards the fleeing brunette. He wasn't sure why he did so. Perhaps desperation. Finally there was a person who talked to him like he wasn't some god, or superior person, or someone to use for popularity. It was actually a true, honest speech, not the fake ones from everyone else. Finally, someone reached out to him honestly, not with any hidden motives. Someone spoke honestly to him, not the new baseball star. It was purely to Yamamoto._

* * *

><p>The rest was history of course, and ended with all the witnesses thinking that the whole thing was some kind of joke. But still, he gained his first true friend from it, and even more as the weeks passed by. Though Gokudera would probably sooner kill himself than become a friend with him, he added to himself with a chuckle. Returning back to the battle now though, he finally had Milo at his end. The man had multiple cuts lacing his skin, even if Yamamoto could only hold one blade, as his left hand was still useless. Yamamoto's eyes flashed suddenly, and he gave Milo a quick smirk before it dropped again.<p>

"Now, Erza!" he yelled, and Milo went rigid in shock, before turning around. Behind him, Erza stood, though with difficulties as the wound on her leg from before was still throbbing. She smirked at the shocked face, and was once again equipped in her lightning goddess armour. The staff she held gave a final burst of light, before the power that had been charging for a while erupted from the end. While Yamamoto had been attacking, it had given her the perfect chance to get into position. Now the lightning sped towards Milo, who couldn't dodge in time due to shock and the injuries from Yamamoto. It hit him squarely in the chest, and Yamamoto had to jump out of the way as he was sent flying back.

He landed heavily on the ground, and a second later the pain hit from the electrocution. He let out a short yelp, before he bit his tongue until it bled to stop the cry. No sooner had he done this, than the physical exertion became too much, and blackness swarmed his vision as he finally passed out, most likely for quite a while.

Erza had staggered up to stand beside Yamamoto, and the two stood panting from the long fight, before both collapsing onto the ground. Kojirou and Jirou returned to their animal forms, the swallow flapping over and landing on the ground with a worried chirp, while the latter also rushed over, sniffing worriedly at Yamamoto, who laughed and pushed them away. With a bit of reassurance, he got them to return, and he and Erza were left alone.

"Haha, well, at least we won, right~?" Yamamoto asked cheerfully, all former signs of aggression evaporated. Erza only nodded tiredly, blood slowly flowing from her leg wound again. She ripped part of her outfit off, and tied it around the wound tightly, slowing the blood flow mostly. Yamamoto had ripped off a long strip of his own shirt and tied it over his stomach wound by then as well. They both lay down tiredly, catching their breath.

"I don't think we'll be catching up with the others anytime time soon," Erza panted, and Yamamoto just tiredly laughed.

"Yeah…" he muttered, before drifting off to sleep due to exhaustion, Erza soon following.

* * *

><p>Tarasu growled as the battle wrapped up, another one of his members failing to kill the Vongola and Fairy Tail wizards. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. Deciding it didn't really matter, as long as they were stopped, he snapped his fingers, and the odd screen once again evaporated into mist.<p>

"Cynthia!" he yelled, and the small, but peppy female was soon by his side.

"My turn?" she asked, grinning. Tarasu's mouth formed into a matching grin, as he nodded.

"Ahh. But set up the surveillance for the other rooms first. I don't want to be left blind if you die," he added, and Cynthia formed her mouth into a pout.

"Geez~ I'm not going to fail like those other bimbos. But if you insist," she added, as Tarasu sent her a look. She quickly disappeared again, and Tarasu sighed. He glanced at his watch, and saw that twenty-three minutes had passed since he left Enrico to finish up. He shook his head, before another grin spread over his face, and he laughed, as everything was falling into place perfectly. It was only a matter of time now.

* * *

><p>(1) Basically means 'wow' or 'amazing' in Japanese.<p>

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><p>AN: And it's done! Whew, 6096 words. (Haha, 96. xD) That's quite a bit. ^^ Anyways, thank you so much for the reviews. They're my daily ego boost, and fill me with fuzzy feelings. -w- Also thanks to all those who have hit the alert or favourite button. ^^ Please keep reviewing, and don't be afraid to criticize. God knows I need it. xD As always, Natsu will be happy to take any flames off your hands. Until next chapter then. Ciao!

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><p><strong>As asked previously, I would like to know everyone's opinion on about writing battles between Fairy Tail and Vongola members. I personally like the idea quite a bit, but I want to hear from you. Even a yes or no will suffice. Arigatou! *bows*<strong>


	11. Illusions and Pasts Revealed

A/N: Sorry about the wait again!

OBSERVER01: Glad that you're still interested. Thanks! ^^

Sicario di Castigo: Gah! I'm sorry! I'll try to update as fast as I can! ;A;

KatrinaKHR27: I'm a huge fan of Erza as well. ^^ I hope that you enjoyed the battle with her.

Aoi No Sora: I'm sorry! ;A; If you have any suggestions on how to make it better, please don't hesitate to tell me. I want to make sure that you enjoy the story as well.

I hope you'll enjoy chapter 11! And if you can, please check out the bottom AN on the last chapter and tell me what you think. I want to know you're guys' opinions!

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><p>The remaining people of the rescue troop silently walked through the seemingly endless halls of the Blood Moon. Natsu trudged in the front of the group angrily along with Gokudera, both frustrated with the newest addition to the lost companions, totalling four missing out of the original thirteen members, including the two Exceeds.<p>

Happy flew worriedly beside Natsu, but knew better than to say something to him. Lucy paced alongside Wendy, who looked scared out of her wits since everyone was slowly being picked off. Carla stayed close to her side, making sure that she wouldn't get separated from the dragon slayer like the others. Gray was striding behind the two girls, and a totally uncharacteristic Ryohei followed, also silent. As always, Hibari kept far away from everyone, this time bringing up the rear.

He narrowed his eyes suddenly however, sensing a disturbing but – grudgingly – familiar feeling creep up the back of his neck. He stopped walking, and the others quickly noticed this, turning to him with questioning looks.

Ignoring them, he reached into his jacket, easily pulling out his tonfas, which never left his side. Lucy bravely opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but before she could even utter a sound, he charged forwards, tonfas raised. With a startled yelp from the back two males, Gray and Ryohei were suddenly attacked by the prefect, getting harsh blows dealt to their heads. They crumpled down to the ground, both unconscious. Gokudera angrily pushed his way forwards past the shocked group, until he stood in front of Hibari, the two males now lying on the ground with a bit of blood seeping out of their heads between them.

"Oi, Hibari! What the hell was that for? We need all the members we can get right now to save Juudaime, and you just knocked out two of them! Even if they were worthless!"

Hibari glared back, a menacing aura coming off of him, before he stepped forwards, not caring when his feet fell on the bodies. The others quickly moved aside, to make a path for him, and he didn't even glance at Gokudera when he passed him.

"I feel no need to explain myself to weak herbivores that can't even recognize illusions," he snorted, before continuing on his way forwards. Gokudera's face, which was contorted in anger, quickly changed into one of confusion.

"Illusions?" he muttered, before glancing over at the two bodies, His eyes widened however, when he looked at them. They were quickly turning into purple mist, or moreover, flames, silently disappearing until no traces were left. Gokudera stared wide-eyed at the now empty ground, before everything clicked. Mukuro was definitely out of action, he knew that from the sight of him in Chrome's brief transmission. The girl also wouldn't do anything like that, as she only used her illusions for when they were needed. That would only mean… his eyes widened further as he remembered Chrome's last words before the transmission got cut off, where she was trying to warn them of something. Lowering his head, his bangs fell forwards, shielding his eyes from the Fairy Tail members, who were looking at him worriedly. They jumped as he suddenly took a step forwards, harshly punching the wall. A rather large dent formed around his fist from where he had impacted it, and a bit of blood trickled down from the now bleeding fist.

"Fuck…" he muttered under his breath, before taking a deep breath and straightening up again. He sighed wearily and crossed his arms, ignoring the concerned looks.

"I'll explain on the way," he said tonelessly, before walking through the path that was left behind from Hibari, said man roughly 10 feet away from them now, with Hibird sitting on his head and singing the Namimori school song. The others hurriedly followed after Gokudera, who was walking calmly, despite his earlier display.

"I'm guessing that Juudaime has already explained to you about dying will flames right?" he asked, and the others all nodded, Lucy having explained everything to Wendy and Carla earlier on. Remembering that he wouldn't be able to see them nod, they quickly all said yes.

"There are actually different types of dying will flames, a total of seven. The one that Tsuna has is the strongest and rarest, the sky flame. Then the other six follow. You might have noticed Yamamoto's flames and mine when we all met up, which were different colours. Mine was red, which is the storm flame, and Yamamoto's is blue, the rain flame. Ryohei has a yellow one, which is the sun flame, Hibari's is purple, a cloud flame, and then Mukuro's is indigo, which is mist. Basically everyone has a certain kind of flame in them in our world, but if you can access and bring it out is an entirely different thing altogether. Each flame also has a different property as well. Storm has degeneration. Rain is tranquility. Sun is activism. Cloud is propagation. Mist is construction. And sky is harmony. What you saw just now were illusions of our friends, which normally wouldn't be that odd, since I wouldn't be surprised if you guys have some kind of magic for that. But when Hibari defeated them, they turned into mist flames. It seems that somehow, not only does Blood Moon know who the Vongola are, but they can also use our flames, and it seems like Gray and Ryohei are up against a mist flame user, and an illusionist."

Everyone who was following behind Gokudera eye's darkened slightly, as they realized just how bad their situation was. They had seen first hand how strong Tsuna's flames were, and they just had to hope that their enemy's flames wouldn't be nearly as well trained. They continued behind Gokudera, each one lost in their own thoughts, but one sounded in all of their minds.

_Be safe, everyone. Please._

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><p>Ryohei and Gray were walking forwards, the majority of the group up in front of them except for Hibari, who irritably paced behind them. Both were lost in thoughts, worrying about what fate had befallen the others. Ryohei blinked and looked up, staring at the others backs, when they suddenly stopped. He quickly yanked Gray back by the shoulder – since he had already disposed of his shirt a while ago – before he could walk into Lucy's back. Natsu and Gokudera, the two leading teens, turned around and faced them all, Lucy and Wendy hurriedly getting out of he way, along with Happy and Carla.<p>

"Oi, Octopus-head, what's extremely wrong!" Ryohei asked in his usual loud voice.

"Flame Brain, are you so lost that you can't even walk in the right direction?" Gray growled, though he was also just as confused as the other.

Before they could further question them though, Gokudera suddenly activated his Vongola Gear, and Natsu also lit up his fist with flames. They both lunged forwards, Gokudera throwing eight sticks of dynamite while Natsu rushed forwards, fists raised. The other two males were frozen in surprise for a moment, before they quickly managed to dodge the attacks that were… aimed at them? They were both about to yell at their 'allies', but had to doge more attacks, Natsu going for Ryohei while Gokudera focused on Gray.

The ice mage quickly formed a shield, effectively blocking the explosions from Gokudera's bombs, before rushing in for some hand to hand combat so he couldn't use the dynamite very effectively. He successfully landed a hard punch to Gokudera's jaw, sending him flying, and also hit the silver haired teen with a blast from ice cannon before he could get up again, effectively knocking the teen out. Gray stared at him confusedly. He knew that he himself was pretty strong, but Gokudera couldn't possibly be that weak…

Meanwhile, Ryohei was engaged in combat with Natsu, already having activated his Vongola gear. For some reason, Natsu seemed to have limited himself to only using punches, and none of his special moves. Needless to say, Ryohei had him knocked out within thirty seconds, being an expert in boxing and fistfights.

Gray now knew that something was definitely wrong. Though he'd never say it out loud to anyone so long as he could help it, he had to admit that Natsu was strong, perhaps even more so than him. He didn't know the other teen's power level, but it couldn't be high enough that he managed to beat Natsu that fast. He doesn't even lose to Erza that quickly if it's in an actual duel! His eyes narrowed as he looked at the bodies though, before widening as they began evaporating into an odd purple mist. He glanced at Ryohei, who also seemed confused, before it morphed into a look of recognition.

"I EXTREMELY remember this mist! Mukuro would use it for his EXTREME illusions!" he suddenly yelled, and Gray had to wince at the volume.

"So you've seen this stuff before? Then you know its weaknesses and how to see through them, right?" the black haired teen asked, but he had to cover his ears again as Ryohei yelled again in reply.

"I EXTREMELY do not know!" he yelled, and Gray couldn't stop from facepalming at the boxer's idiocy.

Suddenly a laugh rang out though, or moreover a giggle. Their surroundings began evaporating into the purple mist as well, and within seconds everything had changed. Instead of standing in a hallway like before, they were now in a completely white room that was extremely spacious (no pun intended…). What really stood out though, was the figure in the middle of the room. A rather small-framed girl was floating in the middle of the room upside down, swinging back and forth softly, causing Gray to wonder if perhaps she was hanging on a wire or something. The weirdest part about her though, were the spider legs that were coming out from her back, and with a start, Gray recognized her as one of Tsuna's kidnappers.

"You!" he yelled, pointing an accusing finger at her. She only giggled in reply though, irritating Gray to no end.

"Yes, me. I'm so happy you remember! I'm touched, really," Cynthia mocked, grinning.

"Ah! You're the one who extremely kidnapped Sawada!" Ryohei suddenly yelled, only jus know realizing it.

"Where's Tsuna? What did you do to him!" Gray yelled, glaring.

"He's currently with our master and special guest, and he's probably relatively unharmed. Though don't be too surprised if he doesn't recognize you the next time you meet each other. Though I don't think either of you will be living to see that," she laughed.

"What the hell does that mean!" Gray yelled, and he clasped his hands together.

"Ice make, lance!" he cried and shots of ice shot forwards. However, as they travelled, they were one by one destroyed, almost like they smashed into something. Gray looked shocked for a moment, before he glared at Cynthia, growling as she just laughed happily.

Ryohei meanwhile had activated his Vongola Gear again, and was now charging forwards, traveling in a diagonal as he was also rising so he could meet her. He raised his arm, pulling it back in preparation for a punch, but when he was ten feet away from her he also suddenly ran into something. It wasn't a solid wall, but moreover something taught and thin, like wires almost. They immediately cut his skin wherever he touched them, and he had no choice but to fall back. Cynthia, grinning, suddenly began to fall, before she flipped around and landed on her feet gracefully. She snapped her fingers, and an orb of indigo flames burst to life in the palm of her hand, while she smiled.

"Let's get started then, shall we?" she asked cheerfully, and Gray cursed under is breath while Ryohei watched her warily.

This was going to be a lot tougher than they had anticipated.

* * *

><p>Tsuna gasped as Enrico finally stepped back, releasing his hold on the brunette's head. For the past 40 minutes, Tsuna could feel things flooding into his mind, memories, thoughts, facts, statistics, and everything in between, the whole process being agonizing. His eyes widened however as his mind finished sorting through the last of the memories however, and suddenly they began playing within his mind, almost like a movie, and he became unconscious as he was submerged in the memories.<p>

Meanwhile, Enrico could only smile, pleased. No more than a moment later, the room's door opened, to reveal Tarasu.

"You finally finished?" he asked, and he grinned as the other man nodded.

"He's seeing all of the memories now. By the end of this, he'll undoubtedly be on our side, not to mention be stronger as he'll have no qualms about killing anymore."

Tarasu glanced at the boy still hanging on the wall, before striding over to his chair again, plopping himself down.

"Well then, let's wait for our sleeping prince to awaken then, shall we?" he asked cheerfully, and Enrico also took a seat, crossing his legs and propping his chin up on his hand which was placed on the table.

"Of course."

* * *

><p>Tsuna blinked open his eyes, as a white fog surrounded him. Soon it began to form and clear, and looked around only to find himself in a house. He quickly noticed that he for some reason, he felt devoid of any emotion.<p>

'_Is that odd? Or am I usually like this?' _he questioned himself silently, before shrugging it off.

'_Where am I?' _he idly wondered, glancing around. He seemed to be in an entryway, a hall leading straight forwards with doors branching off to the sides in front of him.

A few steps forwards and to his left, an open archway led to what seemed to be a living room, which he confirmed as he stepped through, and the opposite end lead to another room with tiled floors and some counters, most probably the kitchen. Looking around, he spotted a family sitting peacefully around the room. Two adults, a male and a female, sat quietly on a soft couch, and he guessed that they were probably the parents. A small child, another female, was kneeling on the ground, playing with some of the toys scattered around.

But what really caught Tsuna's attention, was the boy sitting in the corner. He had slightly shaggy pale green hair, and a neutral expression on his face. He couldn't be older than 12, but all he was doing was reading a thick book that looked way to advanced for someone of his age. However, what worried the brunette was the aura radiating from around the kid. It was dark, but at the same time empty, like he felt nothing, and cared about nothing.

His parents glanced over at him worriedly.

"Toshiro, why don't you play with your sister? You should have some fun as well, instead of always reading."

The boy didn't even glance up from his book, ignoring his mother as she tried to further convince him to play. As he ignored her more and more, the father began to get angry.

"Oi, listen when others are speaking to you, boy!" he yelled, and this time Toshiro glanced up at them, but he was glaring darkly. He seemed to ponder something, before smirking and looking back at the book. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for, and his eyes quickly skimmed through the contents of the page. Finishing quickly, he placed the book down and stood, which greatly pleased his mother.

"Ah! Toshiro, I'm so glad you-"

She cut off suddenly, as Toshiro was now muttering some kind of chant. The dark aura around him slowly increased, and an invisible gust of wind seemed to pick up around him. His father stood, about to ask what he was doing, but before he could, earth shot up and overtop of his head. Forming a complete barrier around the man, Tsuna could hear the fists pounding against the hard packed dirt, but it gave no leeway. Slowly, they pounds grew weaker, before they all together stopped, leaving behind a stunned wife and a rather confused sister. The dirt crumbled onto the ground, and the man suddenly fell onto the floor, his face slightly tinged blue. Toshiro's mother let out a short scream before taking a step towards her husband. Before she could reach him though, more earth broke through the floor, wrapping around her again. The same process repeated, and she also slumped to the floor as the dirt crumbled. It was rather obvious now that Toshiro had suffocated them to death. He turned his cold eyes to his sister, who had teetered over to her parents and gently shaking them. She turned slightly teary eyes over to her brother after they gave no response.

"Big brother Toshiro, why won't Mommy and Daddy wake up?" she whimpered, but Toshiro only stared, before turning around.

"They won't wake up as they have gone to meet with God, and can no longer come back," was all he said, before walking away, leaving behind a stunned sister.

Just as she started bawling, the scenery yet again changed, and soon Tsuna was now standing in a forest clearing, a large mountain shadowing the area. In front of him was a building, and he quickly recognized Toshiro standing in front of the doors, though now he looked to be about 16. He knocked loudly on the door, and it creaked open, a rather muscular man standing in the entrance as he glanced at the teen.

"What do you want, brat?" he growled, and Toshiro only stared back at him coldly.

"I want to join your guild," he stated confidently, and the burly man's eyes narrowed.

"What for?"

As the question was asked, Toshiro let a faint smile slide across his face, before he gave his answer.

"Because, it's the best way to gain more knowledge, and power."

The older man also had a smirk slide across his face, pleased by the answer.

"Hmm, come in and meet our headmaster then. We could use an ambitious brat like you."

Toshiro just ignored the insult, and silently walked into the dark guild, shadows quickly engulfing him. The man's smirk turned into a grin soon enough, and he followed the teen back into his guild, slamming the door shut again.

Tsuna stared after where he had seen Toshiro's back disappear in confusion. Why show this to him? But he also had to admit that he felt slight anger boiling inside of him that Tarasu would do that to his sister. However, Tsuna noted, all his emotions were pushed down again, like they had some sort of seal on them. He shook his head though, and figured he was always like this. Though even still, his lack of memories worried him slightly.

He blinked out of his revere as the scenery changed once again around him, but it wasn't a nice peaceful place like before. The sky was dark, evidently it being the middle of the night as the moon was directly overhead of him. He was standing in a town currently, if you could call it one at least. The buildings were ablaze, with rubble covering the entire area. Dark figures were running around, holding bags of food, gold, and other things. Bandits? Tsuna silently questioned. Glancing around again, his eyes were caught when they spotted a rather large building that was on fire. Not knowing why he was so drawn to it, he wandered in, realizing on the way that apparently he could pass through walls. As he walked into the building, he was slightly shocked at the sight that befell him. The entire front half of the house was set ablaze, so he had walked further in, noticing that almost the whole place was bare, no doubt raided by the people he saw earlier. He had already found two dead bodies, both either crushed or burned, and he figured that they were inhabitants of the house. But outside of the door, a child was crouching, crying as he held his hands over his ears while leaning against the door.

"Okaasan… Otosan…(1)" he was whimpering, and Tsuna realized with a jolt that the two bodies must have been the boys parents. The fire's light danced across the dirty blond hair, and soon, he wiped his eyes and stood up shakily, though more silent tears continued to stream down his face. Seeming to have accepted the fact that his parents were most probably dead, he stumbled weakly through the house over to the entrance.

However, as he started moving, the roof around his head began to collapse. He was soon sprinting through the halls of the house, or judging by its size, it was probably moreover a small mansion.

In a few feet though, he tripped over a piece of rubble, and was sent sprawling across the floor. Before the boy could even push himself up again, another part of the ceiling broke off, this time a supporter beam. Tsuna, even though he was nearly devoid of emotion, still felt a small amount of bile rise up in his throat as a sickening scream tore from the boy's throat. The beam landed right on his hands, and Tsuna was fairly confident that they were completely crushed. The boy seemed to struggle to keep his eyes open, but soon the pain forced him into an unconscious sleep.

The scene changed again, though Tsuna was still in the same place. The fires had all put themselves out by now, and it couldn't be past 8:00 in the morning, as the sky was still pale. He glanced over at where the kid was, only to spot someone apparently pulling him out of the rubble of the raided and burnt house. The boy's hands lay limply as he was lifted, and Tsuna felt himself wince slightly at the sight of them. After being crushed and burned from the fiery beam, they weren't even recognizable anymore. The man who had grabbed the boy quickly glanced around, as if worried about being caught, before hurrying away as Tsuna's surroundings morphed again.

He was now standing in what seemed to be a lab, the walls, floor, and ceiling all hard tiles and white, with equipment strewn about. On a table in the middle, the boy lay, but what surprised Tsuna was that his hands were now back. Or rather, replaced, as he glanced at the shiny aluminum. The door opened, and the man Tsuna had seen carry the boy away entered the room. He walked over to where the kid, who was probably eight or nine years old, was lying. Placing a wet washcloth on his forehead, he sighed, before grabbing some tools and beginning working on the hands again.

The scenery dissolved again, and now the boy was awake, standing outside the house at the door now. The man from before smiled sadly at him, hugging the boy, who had on a thick cloak and an easily portable bag. It was evident that he was leaving now that he was better, though he was still sad about it, as a single tear slipped from his eye as he hugged the man back.

"Be safe Milo," he murmured, and the boy only nodded in reply.

"I will. And thank you for everything."

It seemed no more words were needed as they separated, and the boy began walking away, while they both slowly faded into the fog again. The next scene that formed in front of Tsuna was of the building in the forest again, but this time Milo stood in front of the doors, before tentatively knocking. A boy, probably around his age, opened the door, and raised his eyebrow at Milo.

"I want to join Blood Moon," Milo told him, and the boy just stared at him.

"You do know that this is a dark guild right?" he asked, and the blond haired kid just nodded in response.

"I want to join so I can further my power, and get revenge on the light guilds. They did nothing to stop bandits from raiding my town, even though they attacked other ones before it. They only stepped in when they attacked a town that held a guild in it. The entire magic council, and light guilds are corrupted into thinking that those with magic are superior to others who don't have it," he ground out, and Tsuna felt a small amount of resentment arise in his chest upon hearing that. The boy had suffered so much, and they people who could have prevented it, yet they wouldn't do so unless it affected them.

'_Lights guilds must be terrible,'_ he thought angrily, and couldn't help but laugh inwardly about the contradictory name to their actions.

The boy who had opened the door grinned, before swiftly starting to pull Milo inside.

"I think the same too! The light guilds and council are corrupt in my eyes, just like yours. Oh, by the way, what's your name?" the boy asked excitedly, pulling a rather shocked, but still pleased Milo after him.

"It's Milo. Milo Granite."

"Nice to meet you Milo. I'm sure we'll be good friends, and we can bring down the bad wizards together! Oh, and by the way, I'm Tarasu Rinen." The boy smiled happily, and Milo laughed while he nodded, hurrying into the guild after the other.

"Un!"

Tsuna stood still in shock for a moment, upon finding out that that happy boy had been Tarasu. It was one of the few memories that he still had, Tarasu telling him about his past. He was really starting to feel hate towards the light guilds now.

'_I'll definitely help Tarasu and the others get revenge on those corrupt wizards,'_ he vowed in his head, and soon he felt his consciousness arise again, while the world around him flickered out to blank space again.

* * *

><p>Tsuna let out a small groan as he cracked open his eyes, slowly blinking as his vision came into focus again. He looked up at where Tarasu and Enrico were patiently sitting, probably waiting for him to wake up. Tarasu smiled at Tsuna when he looked at him, as did Enrico.<p>

"Ah, you're up. I trust that the memories found you well? Though, only those that have been defeated or finished their fights are shown to you. The others will come soon enough anyways."

Tsuna nodded in response to Tarasu's question, before he opened his mouth, wincing slightly as he spoke since his throat was still sore from the earlier pained screams.

"I want to help you defeat the corrupt light guilds," he croaked out, and Tarasu's smile immediately broke into a grin.

"Are you sure? There are a lot more light guilds than dark ones, and they'll all be against you if you attack them."

"I'm sure. If people like that are governing the world, then everyone will be suffering," he reassured, and Tarasu snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, a black haired girl appeared in front of Tsuna, and she placed her hands on his binds for a few seconds before stepping back. She raised her sword, and with quick slashes, the webs were cut, and surprisingly enough, his sleeves were still perfectly intact. Tsuna winced slightly as his arms fell back down to his sides, not being happy about being kept in that one position for over 24 hours. He sat down tiredly on the floor, just now realizing how exhausted he was.

"You should rest, Tsunayoshi. You'll need energy if you want to help us," Enrico suggested, and Tsuna could barely get out a nod before sleep overtook him.

Tarasu laughed lightly as Tsuna feel asleep, before turning to Enrico.

"I must say, job well done. With Tsuna on our side, we'll definitely be able to accomplish our goals, as well as yours."

Enrico smirked and nodded.

"Of course. It's only a matter of time now."

The two men exchanged satisfied looks, before glancing at Tsuna who was sleeping peacefully. It was hard to believe that the fourteen-year old boy would be the one to not only bring down one of the strongest mafia groups, but also change the entire way that Earthland was run. And the whole time, he would have no clue that he was on the wrong side.

* * *

><p>(1) Okaasan is Japanese for mother, and Otosan is Japanese for father.<p>

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><p>AN: Ahh, chapter done! A total 5216 words in the end. I'm sorry if it was short, but it was the best place for cut-off I found. OTL Anyways, please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong with the story. I want to make sure that it's enjoyable for you all! I think I probably had way too much fighting lately, which is the main reason why I have those memory flashback things. We get to find out about the Blood Moon top 6 members pasts now! ^^ Heheh, erm, yeah. Anyways, please keep up the reviews! Gratitude and virtual cookies go to everyone who has, as well as all of you guys who have favouritealerted my story as well. It makes a writer really happy. :3 They're my writing food source right about now. -w- Until next chapter then. Ciao!


	12. A Struggle Through the Mist

A/N: Sorry about the wait! My sister now seems convinced that I have no life since I was panicking over not having the next chapter within the week. -.- Anyways! Sorry about shortness, I was having issues trying to write this chapter for some reason. It just wasn't flowing. OTL

NanaliJoci: I'm glad that the whole 'Tsuna is like those three' thing made sense. To me it did, but for all I know, my brain could just be weird. Though it really is actually, now that I think about it… Anyways! Thanks for the review, and I'm sure you know who the enemies are by now, which is to say the guild that I made up basically of the top of my head. All the names killed me. OTL

The KHRFairytail addict: It's fine! ^^ As long as you can eventually review, I'm happy. It's good to know that the whole brainwash thingy was cool, and not cheesy or cliché.

XxNatsumiShadowsxX: Thanks for the review! Yamamoto and Gokudera are definitely some of my favourite characters, though it's kind of hard to write about Yamamoto. I have no clue what goes on in that guys head. ^^'

Aoi No Sora: Yay! I saved the fanfic from the boring side! xD Ahh, sorry about the whole mindless battle after battle phase. There are still battles too come, but I'm making sure that I get at least quite a bit of other things in it.

Mafia Princess: I'm happy to know that my updating is quick! ^^ One of the most annoying things I find is a really slow updater, so I definitely don't want to do that to you guys.

KatrinaKHR27: Sorry about the whole bad side thing, but it needs to be in there for the sake of plot. OTL

A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: It's fine if you don't review every chapter! (Though it's pref- *smacks* Shut up brain.) Tsuna's swaying might have been pretty quick, but right now the only memories he has are of Fairy Tail supposedly destroying Tarasu's home and family, light guilds not caring about anyone that can't use magic or have a guild in their city, and very biased opinions and views on everything. So, what with Tsuna's personality and everything, I figured he would be on their side from all of that. He's not really under mental stress though. I think Reborn drastically stretched how much it would take for that. ^^' Sorry about not having the guardians threatened and he has to fight for their sake or anything. I might be able to work it in later, but I'll have to see how everything works out. I'm glad though that you enjoyed Erza and Yamamoto's fight. I wasn't too sure on how it turned out after all. - - And I know, I'm so saddened that Squalo's already out. I was like, 'Nuuu! Squalo! ;A; You can't lose. You're too awesome for that. Especially as an English teacher!' Ahh, randomness. xD Although I'm sad that they keep eliminating my favourite characters watches. Like Byakuran's. I'm one of those people that actually likes him. X3 That's a really long reply, isn't it. ._. Ah well, I'll stop blabbing now. TxT

Enjoy Chapter 12!

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><p>Gray collapsed onto one of his knees, panting heavily. For the past 10 minutes, he and Ryohei had relentlessly been attacking Cynthia. However, an invisible force always cut them whenever they started getting close to her, or even if they took a wrong step. The two males now had multiple cuts lacing their skin, while their enemy was completely unscathed, actually sitting there humming to herself right now. Gray growled in frustration, angered at their powerlessness. How were they supposed to attack her if they couldn't even approach the teen?<p>

"Our opponent is strong to the extreme!" Ryohei stated in his usual loud, booming voice, causing Gray to wince slightly in pain. Honestly, if the boxer kept yelling, his already throbbing ears would go deaf. He sighed, shaking his head, but soon went into deep thought.

"Ryohei, what about upwards? There may be an invisible force that prevents us from approaching horizontally, but vertically…"

He looked over at the white haired teen, who was just giving him a blank look. Gray sighed again, rubbing his temples due to the oncoming headache. How much of an idiot could someone be?

"See if you can reach her from above in the air, since we can't get at her from the ground," he explained as simply as he could, and Ryohei nodded.

"I EXTREMELY understand!" he yelled, causing another shot of pain to go through Gray's ears, but soon he was flying upwards, his flaming boots helping. The ice mage was still rather confused about those.

Ryohei quickly adjusted the flame output he was applying to his sun boots, and rose upwards steadily. He wasn't sure how high the odd force went, but figured ten-feet should be fine, for once thinking his actions through. As he was about to charge forwards however, he had to swiftly move backwards, barely managing to avoid a dagger that shot through the space he had occupied just a second ago. He quickly glanced down at where Cynthia was. She was holding up one of her hands, mist flames dancing around a ring on her finger, while two circles of dagger floated around her. An indigo flame lit up in an empty space in one of the circles, before morphing into another dagger.

Another three were sent flying forwards, but were immediately shot down by ice blasts. Ryohei quickly glanced down to where Gray was standing, ready to make anymore ice if needed.

"Focus on your own task, Ryohei!" he called, and the boxer grinned.

"EXTREME thank you, Gray!" Ryohei yelled back, causing Gray to wince yet again.

"It's fine, but for god's sake, stop yelling!"

The words ended up falling on deaf ears, as Ryohei was already focused back on his task. He charged forwards, a fist extended, but sure enough he was quickly met with resistance, the invisible force even tearing his sun boxing gloves slightly, though they quickly repaired themselves. He continued up for another ten feet, often having to swerve around as he met more of the force, but he could never find a break in the odd barricade.

"I extremely cannot find the edge of it!" Ryohei yelled down to Gray, who had just formed an ice shield since Cynthia decided to go for him instead.

"Keep looking! There has to be a break somewhere."

A peal of laughter rang out from Cynthia, her eyes – a shade of grey like the others in the top 6– twinkling in amusement.

"You're not going to get through, you know," she grinned, fiddling with one of her illusionary knives.

"My defense is flawless. Invisible against the white walls, dangerous, unbreakable, and without in single hole in them that will allow anyone passage to me. A perfect shield, in other words."

Gray snorted, his own eyes narrowing in distaste.

"We'll see about that," he growled, before glancing up at Ryohei again. He was yet again searching for the break that they needed, but like the petite woman said, it was, so far, flawless. She merely shrugged while also watching Ryohei, spinning a dagger around in the air with one of her red spider legs.

"Meh. I don't really care how you spend your time, though I must say, it's rather boring for me."

She turned cold eyes to Gray, before grinning maliciously.

"Let's up the fun then, shall we?"

With a snap of her fingers, an Erza illusion formed, hardened scarlet eyes glaring at the two males.

"Of course, she's still not as strong as the original, but has at least half her power."

With that said, the Erza duplicate charge forwards, sword raised. Gray leaped back, and not a moment too soon, as his ice shield was shattered with a precise strike to a weak point.

"Damn it…" Gray growled under his breath, as he dodged another blow. This was really not looking in their favour.

* * *

><p>Tsuna sat, emotionlessly, in one of the chairs around the table in the dimly lit room. He watched the candles for a while in fascination, before examining his surroundings again. The room hadn't changed at all really, though there were a few blood stains from where he had been previously tied up, which he figured was caused mostly from the cut on his arm he got somewhere he couldn't remember. However, he also had a small dribble of blood coming down from another unknown wound on his thigh, which was, oddly enough, frozen over with ice. Tarasu sat comfortably in his chair still, feet level with his head as he slouched with them propped up on the table. Enrico was sitting much more decently in his own chair to the right of Tarasu, quietly sipping some kind of drink. Finally, leaning against the wall space behind the two men, Eterna was leaning against the wall, surveying the brunette with equally emotionless eyes. Everything was silent, until Enrico placed down his cup, catching the others attention.<p>

"Tsuna, I'm just curious, but to confirm, exactly what do you remember right now?"

Tsuna blinked, and quickly called forwards the facts.

"I can remember all attacks that I have available to me in my hyper dying will mode, as well as many profiles of strangers I don't know. Their names being Gokudera Hayato, Yamamoto Takeshi, Ryohei Sasagawa, Hibari Kyouya, Mukuro Rokudo, and Chrome Dokuro, all categorized as a guardian of sorts for the 'Vongola', a mafia group. Vongola gained power through lying and deceit, mercilessly shoving aside the Serato famiglia, who should be the ones in power. Knowledge on the main members of Blood Moon is also given, those being Eterna Fawn, Cynthia Maoru, Milo Granite, Toshiro Lee, Akito Arison, and another who's stats are locked for some reason. The last group includes Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Hearfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvell, Carla, and Happy. All belong to a guild named Fairy Tail, which was responsible for the death of Tarasu Rinen's parents, as well as the majority of his village. There are also brief histories on the Vongola, Fairy Tail, Earthland, Fiore, Blood Moon, and the Serato. I also have the knowledge of Tarasu's, Toshiro Lee's, and Milo Granite's pasts in my memory."

Both men smirked. Though the facts were very biased based on their views, with some of them not entirely true, it wasn't like it would matter to the brunette. He had the facts stored in his brain, which would give him all the info that he would need to fight the others, and that was good enough. Tarasu whistled in awe.

"You did a good job there, Enrico," he said, smirking, which the praised man returned, while Tsuna only looked on in mild confusion as to what they meant.

"Anyways Tsuna, you will get some more facts soon about the other members of the guild as the finish up their battles, but another memory should be shown to you. You know why we hate light guilds and Fairy Tail already after seeing what they think of others, but you should know more about the Vongola."

While saying this, Enrico had already stood up, and was standing in front of Tsuna. He lightly tapped the brunette's head, sending him into unconsciousness again, with the memories being left to further the insurance of Tsuna being on their side.

* * *

><p>Gray cursed again as he dodged another sword strike from Erza. He was able to stand a fairly good chance against her, since it was only half power, but she was still incredibly strong, which was only confirmed as he dodged yet another attack from her before she could smash in his head. Luckily, it seemed that she couldn't re-quip, but even normal Erza was hard enough to deal with.<p>

"Ice make, lance!" he called out, and the familiar ice spears shot forwards. However, out of the five that he had made, only one managed to not get destroyed by her blade. It stabbed into her arm, digging in harshly. The limb quickly disintegrated into flames yet again, and while he still had the advantage, Gray quickly attacked again with the ice lance. The Erza clone tried to block it with her sword, but her balance was off due to the missing arm, and the attack quickly slammed into her chest, piercing through to the back. Almost immediately, the illusion began to evaporate, and soon it was only a small burning fire again before it finally extinguished. The ice mage panted, fairly out of breath after the duel. He shuddered, realizing how strong Erza really was, if it was all he could do to bring down a half powered, handicapped illusionary version. Claps rang out through the white room, and glancing up, he saw Cynthia still had that annoying smile plastered on her face. She then pointed up for some reason, and Gray was going to ignore her, before he remembered Ryohei. Quickly shooting his gaze upwards again, he saw Ryohei a few feet away from the ceiling, before he suddenly stopped. It looked like he was trying to break free of something, through struggling only made it worse. Finally, he managed to turn around.

"I am EXTREMELY stuck!" he yelled, and Gray couldn't stop from facepalming. He looked back at Cynthia, who was laughing quietly, obviously amused with the whole affair. He sighed, and quickly assessed the situation, knowing that with Ryohei stuck, this whole thing was going to be a whole lot harder.

* * *

><p>Ryohei struggled slightly, tugging at the invisible force. It was wrapped around his arms, legs, and mid-section, so the only part he could move was his neck and head. He felt himself getting slightly drowsy, and as his Vongola Gear returned to its usual bangle form he realized that the trap was slowly draining him of his power. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of this anytime soon, so instead he turned his eyes towards Gray, who stood out starkly with his black hair and pants against the white floor.<p>

* * *

><p>Gray was doing mental calculations in his head, trying to figure this out. When they had come in here, Cynthia had been hanging upside down from something, almost like she was attached to a string. Every time they would even get close to her, no matter how high or low, they would get multiple lacerations on their skin. And finally, Ryohei is now trapped by the force, unable to move, like he ran into-<p>

The ice mages thoughts paused, as everything began to click. He quickly glanced over at Cynthia again, who was too busy grinning at Ryohei to notice the look. He smirked, as he was now almost certain of what her little trick was. He straightened up slightly, before letting out a low chuckle, returning the small female's attention back to him.

"Are you laughing at your own predicament now?" Cynthia questioned, one of her eyebrows raised.

"Perhaps." Was Gray's cryptic response, and Cynthia narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You make it sound like you've figured something out. Or that the tables have turned in your favour," she drawled out slowly, and Gray's smirk only twitched a bit wider.

"Why not find out for yourself?" he questioned, and just then a glint of white tinged slightly blue caught the light, shining slightly. Cynthia's eyes widened as she looked around. Same coloured, thin strands crossed across the entire area, only disappearing a few feet above her head. She looked closer, and sure enough, each line was encased in a small amount of ice.

"Seems like the bug has figured out how to navigate the spider's web, eh?"

Gray was holding his hands in front of him, where large amounts of frost were coming from them. The web strands nearby the ice mage were steadily accumulating more of the frost, and Cynthia shivered slightly, all the while wondering how she had not noticed the temperature drop. She turned narrowed eyes back to the ice mage, but a small smile still played on her lips.

"It doesn't exactly help you anymore. The only advantage now is that you can avoid the cuts, but still not these!"

As she finished the last words, she formed swords out of mist, quickly surrounding Gray. He just barely managed to jump out of the way before they slashed at the point where he had stood a few moments ago. Cynthia smirked. Even if Gray could see the strands from her web now, he still couldn't get to her. After all, it not like they could suddenly br-

_Crack_

Gray charged right into one of the frozen strands, and unlike his previous attempts to get at her, the web snapped right in half, shattering as it hit the ground. He smirked at her wide-eyed expression, and within a few seconds, he was standing in front of her, a trail of broken ice behind hm. He had already formed a sword attached to his hand out of ice, and it was swung behind him, ready to be sent forwards and connect with its target.

Before the girl could move he thrust it forwards, easily cutting through the air. It pierced through her abdomen, and Cynthia's eyes widened even further.

"Impossible…" she muttered, before she broke into coughs. Some blood came up, splattering the ground, before Gray removed the blade, causing more blood to flow out of the already bleeding wound. She collapsed onto her knees, before glaring up at the ice mage, now devoid of the blood covered blade.

"You… light guilds… are all the… same…" she forced out of her mouth, before her eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed, fainting. After a moments pause, Gray quickly rolled her onto her side, and, placing his hands on either side of her wound, froze the blood flow. She might have been an enemy, but he wasn't going to kill her. Just to make sure that she would still be harmless once she woke up, he locked her body in a non-fatal ice lock, leaving her head uncovered so she could breath, and talk if needed.

However, he had to frown at her last words. What could she possibly have meant by that? He was suddenly broken out of his thoughts though as he heard a familiar yell. And was it just him, or was it getting louder?

"EXXXTREEEEMMMMEEEEEE!"

His eyes quickly shot up to where the increasing sound was coming from, only to be completely shocked as Ryohei was falling from his previous position, which had been at least 25 feet above the ice mage. The boxer activated his Vongola Boots, greatly slowing his descent, but as he was falling with his front facing the ground, he moreover just propelled forwards.

The yell was cut off as he smacked face first into the white ceramic floor, and Gray couldn't help but wince at the contact. He grew worried, as Ryohei didn't move, and quickly jogged over to him. A foot away from the boxer however, the white haired teen suddenly shot up, surprising Gray enough for him to lose his balance and fall backwards.

"EXTREME!" Ryohei repeated, fists shot up in the air, completely ignoring the slow blood trickle coming from his nose. Gray couldn't stop himself from facepalming again at the boxer's idiocy, and sighed tiredly. How he even managed to survive the fall would remain a complete mystery to him, and he had the feeling that even if he did ask, the other would have no clue about how that worked either.

Gray moved to get up, but quickly winced as a pain shot up his arm. He saw a fairly bad slash had been inflicted on it, and he wouldn't be surprised if it was from Erza. Sighing, he stood again, before glancing around. The room didn't have a single door, not in the walls, floor, or even the ceiling, and he got the feeling that it wouldn't even open up if they found a hidden one.

"Well done to the extreme, Gray!" Ryohei yelled, and Gray had to cover the ear closest to him.

"Yeah yeah, but seriously, would you stop yelling everything?" he asked irritated.

"Oh, extremely sorry!"

It was obvious that yes, Ryohei had tried to lower his voice, but it still came out as a voice someone would use for giving a presentation to a large room without a microphone. In other words, it was now like a regular person's yell. Gray sighed, but knew it wasn't about to get any better than this, so decided to make do with the now bearable yelling.

"Anyways, it doesn't look like we'll be getting out of this room anytime soon," Gray announced, but he looked up to see Ryohei already gone, facing one of the walls. His fist was drawn back, and Gray, instead of telling him it wouldn't work if this room was supposed to be used for battles, merely sat down and waited.

"MAXIMUM CANNON!"

The fist was flung forwards, and connected solidly with the wall. However, not even a dent appeared on it, leaving it completely unscathed.

"That hurt to the EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled, shaking his hand.

"Volume!" Gray retorted.

"EXTRE- I mean, extremely sorry Gray!" the boxer yelled back, the ice mage only waving it off. Ryohei jogged over to the black haired teen, before sitting down quickly beside him.

"So what do we extremely do now?" Ryohei asked in his quiet yell, and Gray thanked whoever was listening that his ears were at least somewhat used to loud noises from his and Natsu's fights, not to mention the all out guild brawls.

"Nothing we can do. We'll need to trust in the others," he sighed, leaning back on his arms. He nearly went flying however as a strong pat on his back hit him.

"Don't worry to the extreme! Octopus head and the others will get Sawada back for sure," he grinned, giving the older teen a thumbs up before going back into whatever thoughts he had floating around his brain.

Gray sighed but smiled faintly. He knew he could trust the others to find Tsuna in their place, though their helplessness still frustrated him.

_Don't screw up, Flame-brain._

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><p>Tsuna blinked open his eyes, the familiar foggy white expanse greeting his eyes. Scenery started to form, however it seemed to be quickly overridden by another one, causing it to start morphing into a completely different setting. He idly wondered if another battle had ended, and he blinked his eyes in mild surprise as his thoughts were confirmed.<p>

A winter scene lay before him, the majority of it being a field, though a rather large amount of trees were spread across it. A mountain was located in the background, and soft snow fell over the previous layer. In the middle of it all, a rather nice cabin was situated. He looked over to where a young girl with bobbed, orange hair was running towards it, smile plastered on her face as she hurriedly ran towards the house.

Tsuna followed behind her, his feet not leaving any prints in the snow, and he couldn't even feel the snow underneath his feet, or the chill that was surely there on his skin, judging by the fog exhaling from the girl's mouth.

She smiled contentedly again, reaching her front porch. Tsuna walked in after her once she had opened the door. She took off her boots, and bounded into the house. She swiftly travelled down he halls, obviously already having a destination in mind. She stopped in front of a door that was opened a crack, before pushing it open easily. She froze however, smile frozen, but her eyes were in absolute turmoil.

Unable to get around her, Tsuna walked through the wall, and almost froze up to. The room he was in seemed to be the parent's bedroom, if the large king sized bed and wardrobes, as well as pictures were anything to go by. By what had the child – who he assumed was Cynthia, since from the pictures in his head, she matched the most – frozen, was what was on the floor. What he assumed to be her parents lay brokenly on the ground, their clothes stained red and torn.

Above them stood a hooded man, the black cloak he wore blocking out any distinguishing features from him besides the bloody sword he was holding. He noticed the child standing, still frozen, in the doorway, but didn't seem at all alarmed by her presence. Giving a final kick to the two adults bodies, probably checking to make sure that they were dead, he turned around, a bright red symbol on his cloak proudly showing to them now. He walked over to the window that was at the opposite side of the room, and opened it as much as he could, before climbing out. He gave a small salute to Cynthia, before turning and dashing, leaving behind the blood-covered sword as he ran, which was now staining the snow crimson.

Not a moment later, Cynthia unfroze, and a strangled sob came out of her mouth. She hurriedly rushed towards the two bodies, sobbing over them as she desperately shook the forms, but Tsuna knew that they were already dead, and was fairly certain that she too knew this.

The scene morphed, and yet again Tsuna found himself standing in front of the building, which he had now figured to be Blood Moon's guild building. The girl, now probably sixteen instead of her previous eight year old self, stood in front of it, a brown cloak draped over her shoulders. Before she could even knock, a sudden circle of people popped out and surrounded her, sending hostile glares at her. She merely smiled, until a fit man, probably in his early twenties, stepped forwards.

"What do you want?" he growled, while Cynthia's smile merely morphed into a grin.

"To join your guild."

"Reason?"

For entertainment," she replied easily, and the man faltered, raising an eyebrow. Before he could ask anything though, Cynthia replied again.

"I don't have any dark ambitions. After all, I have already killed the one responsible for my misery," she explained, and reaching into a pocket somewhere on her, pulled out a familiar black cloak, which was now stained with blood.

The man relaxed at this, and he gave out a dark chuckle.

"Well then, welcome to Blood Moon," he grinned, and led the way into the guild, followed by the others and Cynthia. She carelessly tossed the shredded, bloodstained cloak behind her back, before entering the shadowed guild. The cloak fluttered down to the ground, and though covered in blood, the large red symbol on it's back was still easily identifiable.

The Fairy Tail mark was pictured proudly on the black fabric, with a splash of blood thrown across it, blending together perfectly in harmony.

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><p>AN: And done. I'm sorry it was so short. The word count only came out to 4621 this time. Also, the fight scene didn't really turn out. I was having issues with it for some reason, so it came out awkward and rushed. OTL Anyways, I hope it wasn't too bad. I'll try to improve for the next update, really! . *sighs* Anyways, thank you too all who reviewed! Please keep them coming, as well as any suggestions at all. I want to know what you all like, dislike, love, or hate about this story! Flames as always will be used to feed Natsu. Also thanks to you who have favourite and alerted! Until next time then. Ciao!


	13. Stars and Lightning Meet

A/N: Gah! Sorry for the delay! I fell behind on huge project in school, plus my mom kept stealing the computer. - -' Oh, and I made another account named Bluestar4982. (Creative, huh?) Please note that this is a yaoi account. I made it so that those who don't like yaoi can still enjoy this account without being plagued the stories. Anyways! Since someone found the memories confusing, I'll make a little guide here.

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><p>Memory 1: This was about Toshiro's past, the man who fought against Chrome and Mukuro. Basically, he was super smart, but really secluded for his age. His parent always tried to get him to socialize, which he had been finding irritating for past three years of his life, and finally snapped, actually killing him. He then went to Blood Moon to learn more and become more powerful.<p>

Memory 2: This one was about Milo, the one who fought Yamamoto and Erza. Bandits had raided his town, setting it on fire when they left. Roofing collapsed in his home, trapping his parents in their room where they died, and he tripped while trying to escape. Due to this, a beam landed on his hands, crushing them. A person later went through the rubble the next day, finding him. He took Milo back to his house, where he nursed him back to health and made robotic hands to replace the old ones that were completely useless. Milo later blamed the light guilds for the death of his parents, as the bandits weren't arrested until they raided a town with a guild protecting it. He left to go and find a way to get back at the light guilds, leaving behind the man who took care of him. He joined Blood Moon to get back at the light guilds in the end, and the boy who welcomed him was none other than Tarasu when he was a kid.

Memory 3: This one is about Cynthia, the one who fought Gray and Ryohei. She had gone out to walk through the new snow, but when she got back and went to see her parents, she found them dead, killed by someone wearing a cloak with the Fairy Tail mark. She is later seen at the entrance to Blood Moon, where we find out that she had gone and found the one responsible for her parent's death, in turn killing him and taking his cloak as proof. She joined Blood Moon simply for entertainment now, not having anything else to do. It's still undetermined whether or not the cloak was stolen, a fake, or actually belonging to a member of Fairy Tail.

I'll keep updating the memory chart every chapter. ^^ Oh, and I'm getting dragged to my brother's soccer tournament in another city, so the next update may be slow. Sorry. OTL

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><p>KatrinaKHR27: Ahh, sorry about that. ^^' And thanks for the luck! I can use it. - -<p>

icefox94: I'm not sure actually. I was planning on ending it after the Blood Moon battles, but the thought of the Varia in Fairy Tail just won't leave me alone. I'll probably end up adding stories with them, though I'm not sure if it'll become a serious story arc like this one. Yes, and poor Gray. XD I always had to wonder how Kyoko managed to not go deaf having to put up with her brothers yelling all the time. ^^'

OBSERVER01: Thanks for the compliment! I'll try my best to keep the chapters up to par! -w-

A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: Perhaps it was, maybe it wasn't, we have yet to find out! (The author inclu- *smack* I already told you to shut up brain.) Ahh, sorry if it seems like I'm copying that or something, but honestly, I've never even watched that anime, though I've heard of it. ^^' Sorry if Tsuna really annoys you now, he should get better within 2-3 chapters hopefully. I'm glad that the flow was fine, since I personally thought it was rather awkward. OTL And I'm happy that Gray came out right. I would die if I made him lame in the end. x_x I hope you did well on your exams! We don't really have those at our school. We even have end of year projects instead of exams, too. ._. Do they sell the novels in English? Or can you read Japanese? I'm jealous if you can. xD I personally thought that Team Mammon would lose as well. I did not expect Hibari to smash his own watch just to fight, plus having Xanxus try to do the same. The whole Varia tackling him made me crack up. w

Aoi No Sora: I'm glad it was entertaining! I tried to put more humour into the chapter with Ryohei, but I think I kind of epically failed. OTL

The KHRFairytail addict: Sorry if the memories are complicated. I hope the shortened forms of them up above helped sort everything out. _ _

Anyways, enjoy the next chapter! I hope the battle turned out okay, I'm not sure if it did. .-.

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><p>As the memory of Cynthia faded, it immediately turned into a new one, no doubt the one that had been meant to be shown before it got cut off. Tsuna was now standing in a dimmed room, the furniture styled like something you would see in the 19th century. However, what caught his attention was the man cowering in the corner. In front of him, stood another male wearing a black suit, aiming a gun at his head.<p>

"P-please, don't kill me!" he cried, but got no reaction from the other male, who had regularly cut brown hair.

"You betrayed the Vongola, which is unforgiveable, and punished by death," he replied in a cold voice.

"B-but! I have a wife, and daughter. If I didn't help they were going to ki-"

"Anything you say is irrelevant at this point," the man cut in before the other could respond, and suddenly a shot rang out through the room, the accused person falling to the ground lifeless.

Before Tsuna even had a chance to react, the scene changed again, this time to a forest, where two people, what looked like twins in their late teens, where sprinting.

"Come on, we need to hurry before the Vongola catch up!" the male shouted.

"I kno-!"

The female's sentence was cut off as she fell to the forest floor with an arrow sticking out her back, on the side where her heart is. The boy stared at her shocked for a moment, before tears formed and he snapped his head forwards to where three men stood, one still holding a crossbow in an armed position.

"You bastards!" he screamed, launching himself forwards, before another two arrows were sent pelting forwards, hitting him directly in the chest, almost instantaneously killing him as well. The men rushed forwards, and began dragging the bodies off somewhere, not even caring about them.

The scene changed again, and again another person was killed, and another, and another. They all ranged from 15 years old to 40, differing between genders and the amount of people in the group, but all had one thing in common: they were all murdered by members of Vongola. More deaths flashed by Tsuna, the murderers hardly ever saying any words, only killing and leaving, or if they were considerate, dumping the body somewhere to hide it. Instead of feeling fear or anguish well up inside of him, all Tsuna could feel was hate and anger, growing stronger with each death that passed. These Vongola, all they did was kill people, without a care. They didn't even hesitate, let one person go, even killing children if there were to be witnesses. His eyes slowly darkened the more time passed, the deaths not even slowing down, far past since when Tsuna had lost count. Another shot rang out, another body hit the floor, another life was taken. The Vongola Decimo raised his head, his normally bright brown eyes now tinted grey, the brown only showing slightly when they caught the light directly. The images continued to change and play around, but his mind was now numb to them. He would definitely make the Vongola pay for all those lives they had taken.

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><p>Gokudera felt a shudder run through his spine, and couldn't help but increase his pace slightly, dread for his boss settling itself even deeper in his stomach. The others noticed of course, but chose not to comment, each already feeling their own sense of uneasiness as it was. Gokudera was leading the group again, trailed by Wendy, who was holding Carla while Happy walked beside them. Lucy followed, lost in her own thoughts, with Natsu behind her. Hibari was a ways ahead of all of them, but still couldn't be said to be leading the group, as he was completely ignoring them.<p>

However, the silence they were walking in was suddenly interrupted by a shrill yelp, which was quickly cut off. Even Hibari whirled around to see what happened, only to be greeted by the sight of a pillar in the middle of the room. After 30 seconds, it lowered, completely empty, and settled back into the floor, the place that it had gone through in the ceiling already closed again. Natsu was the first to notice the newest missing person.

"Lucy!"

He stomped over to where the pillar had gone down, before punching the ground angrily.

"Come on, rise up again you stupid machine! Give back Lucy!"

Wendy watched sadly, also grieving over the loss of Lucy, now having to face an opponent as well. Or at least, that's what they assumed to be happening, if Chrome's experience was anything to go off of. Happy walked over to where Natsu was, softly placing a pad down on his shoulder.

"Natsu…"

"I swear, when I find the bastard in charge of this guild, I'll personally make sure he sees hell," he growled out, his eyes narrowed as he straightened up. He swiftly walked past Gokudera, who was watching silently, and continued on their way, Hibari still in front of them as he had started walking a bit ago. Wendy hurried after with Carla and Happy, and Gokudera let out a silent curse, before shoving his hands into his pants pockets and walking after everyone. He only prayed that the blond haired teen could take care of herself.

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><p>Lucy let out a surprised yelp as the ground beneath her suddenly began rising, but she cut it off as the quickly rising pillar went into the ceiling above her, surrounding her with darkness. Within 15 seconds, she was suddenly exposed to light again, brighter than even the halls she had been walking through. A breeze hit her face just as her eyes adjusted, and blinking, she realized she was outside, or more specifically on the roof. She walked over to the edge, the mountain shadow still falling across the place, and saw that Fairy Tail and Blood Moon were still fighting, though her guild was winning fairly easily. Suddenly she heard a tap of a boot on stone behind her, and she quickly turned around to see a shadowed figure standing there.<p>

"Who's there?" she demanded, wary of the unknown figure. They took another step forwards, and were now far enough into the lighter shadows for Lucy to make out the person. She had nearly ground length black hair pulled into a side ponytail, and goggles rested on her forehead. She was wearing the same black short-shorts, as well as the black-laced white jacket with black undershirt, a sword hanging at her side. Her eyes were a blank grey, not showing any emotion. Lucy quickly remembered her as one of the two females who had taken Tsuna, and the one who had knocked him out.

"You!" she ground out, glaring as she got into a defensive position. Eterna merely blinked, but chose not to respond. Instead, she smoothly drew her sword, and stared at Lucy who already had her key ring in hand.

"I have orders to stop you from continuing past this point. The best course of action for this is defeat, so I will be engaging you in a battle," she stated monotonously, and Lucy continued to glare.

"Fine by me. But you better not have harmed Tsuna!"

"He's unharmed physically, the only new wound being a small cut on his arm."

Lucy froze at that.

"What do you mean by physically? Does that mean that something happened mentally…?"

I am not to inform you of the current status of Vongola Decimo," Eterna responded calmly. Lucy grit her teeth in frustration, but new she needed to start the battle soon, unless she wanted Eterna to get the first move. She quickly took off one of her gold keys, putting the others on her belt again, before putting the chosen key in front of her.

"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, the gate of the golden bull! Taurus!" she called as she slashed down her key, and with a puff of smoke the familiar muscular cow was standing in front of her.

"Lucy-chan! It is nice to see you and your body again!" he greeted, grinning. Lucy only sighed and face palmed, before pointing over to where Eterna had raised her sword.

"We don't have time for this! We need to defeat her!" Lucy insisted, and Taurus quickly turned around to where the Blood Moon member stood. He opened his mouth to reply, but had to close it again and quickly raise his axe to block a sword attack from her. He narrowed his eyes, before shoving her back, and going on the offensive. He quickly swung his axe, but each attack was in turn blocked by her sword, sparks flying from the contact of metal. Eterna managed to start attacking herself, forcing Taurus to go on the defensive. He was able to block the hits, but suddenly one got through, slashing his skin and leaving it bleeding.

He looked at his axe in confusion. Where the blade had touched it, the metal had been chipped away, thus explaining how she managed to get the attack through. But still, he couldn't figure out how she had managed to break through it. He glanced up, only to have his eyes widen as the sword was being lunged straight towards him. He raised the axe again to block, but the blade sliced right through the center. Eterna twisted it, sending cracks throughout the weapon, before swiftly pulling it out. The axe stayed together for a moment, before large pieces fell off of it.

Without the weapon to defend with, Eterna quickly shot in with attacks, leaving multiple lacerations across Taurus's skin, before finishing it off with a hilt jab to his neck. He collapsed as his body began to glow, before he vanished in a yellow glow. Lucy was shocked for a moment at how easily Taurus was defeated, before quickly thinking up a new strategy.

'_If close combat doesn't work, then…'_

Lucy put the key away before quickly grabbing the next one, summoning a man in a horse costume with a quiver full of arrows and a bow.

"Quick, Sagittarius! We need to take her out, but watch out for the sword."

"As you wish, moshi moshi," he immediately responded, before expertly knocking three arrows to his bow and releasing them. With a slash of her sword however, Eterna knocked them out of the air before they could hit her. She continued to block the attacks from Sagittarius, but as they increased in size, it became harder, until soon they were getting through to injure her. As another array of arrows was unleashed, her eyes widened slightly as she spotted one that she couldn't block heading straight to her neck. However, within a second she had dodged, and was standing three feet away from her spot. Shocked, Lucy and Sagittarius quickly looked over at her, and soon spotted the reason behind her speed. Coming out of her back was a long black wing, resembling one that would be seen on a bat, and was rather large, perhaps reaching 5 feet to her side.

Quickly regaining his wits, the celestial spirit knocked 8 arrows to his bow and fired all of them, however Eterna dodged them all again with her new speed, and before Sagittarius could react, was behind him, slashing him and sending another spirit back to their realm.

'_Crap,' _Lucy thought. '_My spirits can't fight with her moving that fast, unless they can as wel-'_

Lucy's thoughts were cut off as the thought struck her, and she quickly pulled out another key.

"Gemini!" she shouted, and two small blue beings appeared in front of her, almost seeming to dance while they waited for orders.

"Gemi, Mini! I need you to transform into Eterna so you can keep up with her speed," Lucy said, and the twins quickly nodded.

"Roger that!" Gemi confirmed, and before Eterna could react, Mimi had already sped over and tapped her on the shoulder before darting back to Gemi.

"Data acquired!" she stated happily, before the two flashed a light colour. Soon, an exact copy of Eterna was standing there, with the sword, wing and everything. The two darted forwards at exactly the same time, blades clashing. Eterna spun around to slash Gemini's legs, but they quickly blocked the attack and launched one of their own, which was also blocked. The blows kept going back and forth, neither advancing, but Gemini was able to keep up with Eterna's speed now.

Lucy could barely keep up with the movements, but soon there was one difference she noticed between the two. While Gemini's sword was bright silver, Eterna's seemed to be reflecting a sporadic green light. Looking closer, she caught the occasional flicker of something that almost looked like lightning.

Her eyes widened as she remembered what Gokudera had talked about. He said something about lightning flames, and if they were from his world, then that could easily explain why Gemini was unable to use the odd green lightning infused with their sword. Remembering more of the conversation, she recalled that the lightning flames property was something like hardening. The fact that Taurus's axe was broken so easily was suddenly very believable, and if that happened to his axe, then no doubt the same would happen to Gemini's sword.

Lucy opened her mouth to warn the twin spirits, but just then had to dodge quickly, as half of a sword went flying past where her head had been just a moment ago. While lost in thought, Eterna had struck Gemini's blade full on, and with her lightning flames had easily broken it. Now Gemini stood slightly shocked, wondering what had gone wrong with their sword. However, not a moment later Eterna swung her blade again, cutting the Eterna clone in half. With a poof of smoke, Gemi and Mini returned back to their original forms, before flashing a golden light as they too disappeared.

Eterna turned towards where Lucy was, an almost bored expression on her usually blank face as she waited to see which spirit Lucy would use next. Meanwhile, Lucy was in thought again.

_'My spirit's weapons are all going to be cut up with those lightning flames, so I'll have to use someone with an unsubstantial attack. I can't Aquarius without water, and Scorpio's sand attacks could probably be dodged with her kind of speed. That just leaves…'_

Lucy straightened up, and pulled out another gold key.

"Open, gate of the lamb! Aries!" she called, and a puff of pink smoke appeared before dispersing, leaving a very shy looking girl in the smoke's place. She had shoulder length pink hair that poofed out at the ends, and wore a short white wool dress. She also had wool boots on and wool arm sleeves, also white, and had on yellow thigh highs. A small orange satchel fit around her waist, and her head was adorned with ram horns.

"Aries, you need to watch out for Eterna's sword. It can practically break through anything, even Taurus's axe!" Lucy warned, and Aries, though slightly frightened, nodded determinedly.

"I understand!" she replied, before quickly thrusting her hands in front of her.

"Wool bomb!"

A large amount of pink wool suddenly erupted around where Eterna was, who in turn quickly moved backwards to avoid the hit. She lashed out her sword, but unlike before, it only removed a small amount, the wool cushioning the hit and absorbing a small amount of the electric flames. She continued slashing, and soon picked up a steady pace going through the wall of wool.

Just as Eterna slashed through the last of wool, she was sent sprawling to the side when a well placed kick to her head made contact. She got up just as a punch was sent her way, but deftly caught Aries's hand, before turning it behind her back. The spirit yelled out painfully as her arm was harshly twisted, and just as it was let go she was stabbed through the stomach with the sword.

"Sumimasen (1), Lucy!" she quickly apologized, before also fading into the yellow glow.

Lucy ground her teeth, and quickly went through her remaining spirits mentally.

_'I can't use Cancer, since his scissors definitely would be shredded by Eterna's sword. Virgo can't do much against her, and Loki may be able to keep up with her speed, but against a lightning flame infused sword…'_

The Blood Moon member stood patiently waiting for the next spirit, but to her surprise instead of grabbing another key, Lucy instead reached for a golden cylinder. When she drew it, a long rope like blue stream extended from it, the end resting coiled up on the ground.

Eterna charged with her sword raised, and Lucy had to quickly dodge to avoid the slice. She swung the whip, Fleuve d'étoiles (2), at her, but only managed to graze her cheek. As she dodged another sword strike, she couldn't help but wonder why Eterna only had one wing, but the thought was quickly pushed aside as she deterred the blade away with her whip. Another strike, and both weapons clashed with each other.

The whole pattern kept repeating, mainly dodging on Lucy's part, before they broke apart, the blond haired mage panting after having been fighting for the past 5 minutes. Eterna lunged again, leaving behind a long cut along Lucy's leg as she didn't dodge quick enough. Many more cuts were all across Lucy's body, and quite a bit of blood was collecting form all of them. However, she still stood strong, refusing to relent.

Eterna on the other hand, only had a small bruise on the side of her head from Aries's attack and some small scratches from a few lucky shots on Sagittarius's part. Eterna raised an eyebrow in questioning, the blonde mage's actions not making sense to her.

"You're spirits are far more powerful than you, yet you won't call out more and instead attack me yourself. Why? All it results in multiple injuries."

Lucy glared back defiantly, straightening up for another attack.

"Because I refuse to needlessly let them get injured."

To say that the line hadn't surprised Eterna would be a lie.

"But they can't die. They just go back to their world and heal. You however, keep your injuries, and will die if you sustain too many."

"And? Are you saying that I should just use my spirits like they can't feel pain, don't feel hurt, when I use them as mere tools? Like how Karen and Angel had treated them?" Lucy growled out, before lunging forwards as she brought the whip forwards. Eterna quickly jumped above the stream, dashing in mid-air and making another deep cut on Lucy's side.

"Why would you join this guild anyways? All you do is hurt people," Lucy practically yelled, and Eterna landed lightly on the roof roughly 8 feet away.

"Hurt people? Us? It's you light guilds that are to blame for our losses, all of them… Did you think I was actually born with only being able to bring out one wing? Or born as an orphan? It was a wizard from a light guild that is to blame for my misery…"

Eterna's hands were clenched into fists by now, shaking slightly with the barely contained rage.

"He killed my parents, and my little sister when I was 9, her only being 5. I had tried to fight him with my magic, but he just grabbed me, held me down, and without hesitation cut off my wing. Then he left, my family lying dead on the floor and me as good as dead, along with his sword. That's why I need to find him again, to avenge them all, and with the very sword he used."

With the last sentence, she held up the blade she was holding, and Lucy quickly realized that her weapon must be the one that killed her family and tore off her wing. But she quickly realized something, and stared directly into Eterna's eyes.

"Is that really the right thing to do? Will this solve anything?"

The previous anger that had plagued the black haired girl evaporated as she stared in confusion at Lucy. What could she mean?

"Will killing him truly make you happy? Will that get anything back?"

"No, I know it won't, but he must pay for what he did to my family."

"Would your parents ever approve of that?"

Eterna's eyes widened at that. Approve? Why wouldn't they?

"Can you honestly tell me that your parents would want you to kill someone for them, or that your sister would look up to someone who would murder?" Lucy asked seriously. She knew that no matter what someone did, killing them wouldn't be the answer. Across from her, Eterna's eyes had widened even further, clear shock written across her face. It was obvious that she hadn't once considered any of this.

Lucy however, saw an opportunity in this. She swung her arm in front of her quickly, the magic stream coming forth to where her opponent stood. Eterna tried to dodge, but her mind was too preoccupied, Lucy's words running through her head. The whip wrapped around the sword she held, and was rapidly pulled towards Lucy, Eterna still holding on. The whip was swung above the celestial wizard's head, so the longhaired teen was flung upwards before being smashed down onto the stone roof of her guild.

A strangled cough was let out through her mouth as the wind was completely knocked out of her from the harsh impact, and her fingers went slack enough that Lucy could fling the sword out of her grasp, the blade clattering somewhere on the other end of the roof. She closed her eyes tightly as she saw Lucy striding over to her, waiting for the finishing blow.

She was picked up by her arms, but her eyes snapped open as chains were snapped onto her wrists. Behind her stood a purple haired maid, who jammed a spike deep into the solid stone before giving a bow and disappearing. Eterna turned to where Lucy stood, she putting a key back on her ring of them before clipping the pouch onto her belt, and looking up at the other. The black haired female sank down to her knees, her head dropped to stare at the ground.

"Why didn't you finish me off? I tried to kill you…"

"I told you already. Revenge doesn't make anything better. It only creates more killing."

Eterna's head snapped up at that, only to see a smiling Lucy sitting a few feet away from her. Small tears came to her eyes before dropping down onto the concrete. She stared at the wet spots where the stone had darkened. The last time she had shed any was the day after her parent's and sister's death. Now years off bottled up emotion came out in the salty liquid, and she felt a small smile creep up on her face.

"Thank you…" she whispered to Lucy, who only stared, before giving a smile in return, full of warmth.

"Your welcome," she replied, before settling a bit more comfortably to wait until she could get back to the others. But she couldn't help but notice that Eterna's once grey eyes had changed to a deep green colour.

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><p>Tsuna looked up from his crouched position as the screams from a tortured man died down. Grey eyes stared blankly at the new scene which started to unfold, his ears still ringing slightly from the continuous screams, yells, and bullet shots.<p>

The brunette was now standing in what looked like a living room. A girl with short black hair was smiling happily as she played with a younger girl, who had chest length hair, a matching black. A mother who had auburn hair smiled as she looked up from her book, and a father with black hair like the daughters sat beside her, reading through a book as well. The living room was very large, and had an expensive looking brown coffee table close to the middle. The floor was a brown hard wood, except for the ornate carpet under the table. The parents were sitting on a white couch that was pushed against a light tan wall. Pale light streamed through the white curtains, and the place in general had a bright feeling to it.

"Onee-chan, can you show me your magic again?" the younger sibling asked, and the addressed person smiled and nodded. She closed her eyes and slightly furrowed her brow in concentration, before two black bat wings sprouted out of her back with a flash of light. The little girl clapped happily, and stroked the nearest wing to her, while her sister just smiled, the other wing flapping slightly, the scene completely peaceful.

Suddenly there was a crash however, and everyone's head shot towards the window, which was now shattered. A man was standing in the broken window frame, grinning. The brown coat he wore flapped in the slight breeze, as well as his sandy brown hair.

The father of the two small girls quickly got up and stood in front of the others protectively. He opened his mouth to question the other male, but suddenly a sword was in the man's hand and piercing through the father's stomach. Tsuna quickly reviewed the profiles of the Blood Moon members he had in his head, identifying this as Eterna's past, as she was the only one who had black hair beside Tarasu.

The mother rushed over to her husband as he fell, but just as she reached him the sword slashed across her chest, hitting her heart. The two daughters backed away quickly from the man, but the younger tripped, and the man took the opportunity to stab her in the back. The young Eterna stared in shock at the sight in front of her, where within minutes, her entire family had been taken away. Tears sprang to her eyes, before she raised her head to glare at the man.

"You bastard!" she yelled, before flapping her wings and alighting from the floor. Moving quickly, she tried to ram into him, but he quickly side stepped, grabbing one of her wings before she could pass. She cried out as she was thrown onto the ground, and her eyes widened as she felt the cool metal, still wet from the other's blood, pushed against the base of her wing.

"Remember, light guilds always get what they want," he muttered in her ear, before slicing forcefully, severing her wing in one clean movement. She screamed at the pain, and the man merely chuckled, dropping the sword and severed wing onto the ground, before walking over to the window again.

"See you later," he said mockingly, before jumping out the window and calmly walking off. The image faded just as Eterna lost consciousness due to the pain.

When a scene formed again, Tsuna found himself standing in front of Blood Moon for the fourth time. Eterna stood there, but unlike before where she had a smiling face on, it was completely blank, as were her eyes. She was wearing black knee-highs and a matching skirt, and overtop wore a silver tank top. Her hair had grown to the same length as her younger sibling's by now as well. In the last scene, she was probably roughly 8 or 9, but now she was 12, and the one thing that really stuck out to Tsuna was the sword by her side, which was easily recognizable as the one the man had used.

Without even knocking, someone opened the door, regarding her with cold eyes. He only glanced at her, before stepping aside to let Eterna in. She didn't display any emotion, or even acknowledge the person by the door, before she unhesitatingly strode through the open door. The man made a quick glance around, before closing the door, the lock setting in place leaving a resounding _click _going throughout the peaceful woods, before the scene around Tsuna began to fade to white.

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><p>Tsuna opened his eyes to find himself slouched in the chair he was in before, Tarasu and Enrico talking to each other. Tarasu was the first to notice that Tsuna was awake, and he smiled broadly.<p>

"Ahh, Tsunayoshi, how are you? Did you enjoy the memories?" he asked, but he already knew the full affect of them. After all, only certain feelings and emotions can bring out the grey eyes that only the top six under him had. Enrico turned around to where Tsuna sat sitting blankly, and smiled, though his was more of a sly one.

"I trust that that little part of the Vongola has told you about them and what they're like?"

"They're a group that mercilessly kills, no matter gender or age, and should be destroyed," Tsuna instantly responded, a dark look crossing his face for a second. Enrico laughed, and got up to ruffle Tsuna's hair playfully.

"I see you're learning everything fine then," he chuckled, Tsuna only nodding before looking around the room. However, since he was looking elsewhere, he failed to notice the dark, satisfied look that passed between the two older males.

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><p>(1) Means "I'm sorry" in Japanese, something that Aries says a lot.<p>

(2) Means "River of stars" in French, if I remember correctly.

A/N: Woot, done! Well, how was it? I think I ended up making Eterna's whole story a bit sappy, but meh. I made it that way, since I couldn't honestly imagine Lucy killing or knocking anyone out. ^^' I'm happy with the length though! 5842 words! -w- Anyways, like it, hate it? Please review! Thanks go out to all of those who have, as well as anyone who has favourited or alerted this story. It really makes me feel happy. As always, Natsu will be happy to eat any flames you might send. :3 Until next chapter then. Ciao!


	14. A Cloud Covered Sky, With Hints of Storm

A/N: Gah! I'm so sorry for the wait! I can't believe I was this slow updating. x *sigh* I blame my brother's soccer tournament.

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><p><strong>Oh, and I have a poll on my profile, so please fill it out if you can!<strong>

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><p>Memory Chart:<p>

Memory 4: This is basically just a whole pile of terrible things that the Vongola has done over it's history, the main ones Tsuna seeing being murders to traitors, or torturing for information from enemies or whatever. Everything is justified, but Tsuna doesn't see it that way, and it was at least half an hour of seeing all those things, so it would be bound to make practically anyone feel a deep hate towards the Vongola.

Memory 5: This was about Eterna's past. Basically, she had lived perfectly happily with her family, and had recently discovered her magic – which let her grow wings – only a few months before hand. However, soon someone came and killed her parents and sister for unknown reasons. She tried to attack the man, but he easily got her pinned to the ground. With a warning that light guilds always got what they want, he cut off one of her wings, and left the sword behind. After this, she became practically emotionless, her mind only set on finding and killing the man who gave her pain. She also took the blade he had left, so she could kill him with the weapon he had used to kill her family. She joined Blood Moon in order to attack each of the light guilds until she found him, basically confident that he was in one.

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><p>A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: (You know, I've memorized how to spell your name by now. xD) I'm sorry that the battle was pretty lame. I tried to make it seem okay, but really with Lucy, I couldn't imagine her being very violent, no matter the circumstance. ^^' Hopefully Tsuna won't be to annoying later on. Did you actually bet something with your sister, or was it just to see if you were right? I wish I could do something like that with my sis, but she doesn't read or watch it, besides what I've shown or told her about, so yeah. OTL And does that mean you can read Chinese then? I can't read anything in another language really, unless it's Romaji or the little bit of Italian, French, and Spanish I know, mainly French though. And I always have to laugh at the amount of times Squalo has gotten abused by Xanxus. xD And the newest chapter was pretty shocking, what with Vindice and everything. Though I have to wonder if Skull's team is out now that there watches have been taken. :3 So far it doesn't look like it, but, meh.<p>

OBSERVER01: We'll just have to wait and see. I'll try to keep it up as well, thanks. ^^

kinglugia: *cowers* Is an acceptable reason that it makes the plot more interesting? ;A; And don't worry, every new review gives me pressure anyways to hurry and get the next chapter posted. ^^' Still, I can't believe I took this long for this one… OTL And Tarasu and Enrico don't really know what the sky's wrath would be, but I'm sure they will soon. :3 Um, and perhaps. But did she get traumatized or go berserk? .w.

Mafia Princess: I'm glad you enjoyed her spirits, they were fun to write, especially Gemini. I've always had a soft spot for them. X3

The KHRFairytail Addict: I'm sorry not to have included Loki. It just seemed kind of weird to pit a fist user against a sword wielder to me, plus she was using him before hand, so yeah. And I'm sorry that the fight was so lame. It was definitely rushed near the end. OTL I'm sorry about that.

KatrinaKHR27: Yes, go Lucy! There're so many people who make her useless, so I try and make it so that she doesn't look completely incompetent whenever I can. ^^' And I've always loved Lucy's magic as well. :3 I'll try to keep the story up to par, and hopefully improve it whenever I can.

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><p>The now rather small rescue team was still walking through the seemingly endless halls of Blood Moon. Natsu led the group, though Hibari was technically in front of them. Behind the fire mage came Wendy, Carla, and Happy, and Gokudera walked in the rear. Suddenly they stopped however, when the came to a large wooden door.<p>

Without hesitation, Hibari opened it, or, moreover, smashed it off its hinges with his tonfas. The walked into the room, which was quite spacious, and shaped like a hexagon. The only other door was at the far end of the room, so the team made their way over, still alert for traps all the way.

Smashing this door as well, Hibari stepped over the now destroyed pieces of wood, continuing on his way. Natsu followed soon behind, with Wendy picking her way through the splinters, Carla in her arms while Happy merely flew. Gokudera waited until she got past before taking a step, but as he did so, a steel door suddenly slid from the side of the doorframe, slamming closed.

Gokudera was startled into silence for moment, before he pounded a fist into it, but the thing didn't budge. He could hear dull thumps coming from the other side, probably from the others hitting the door as well, before the sound seemed to lower to the bottom of the structure and disappearing all together.

"Shit," Gokudera cursed, a deep scowl on his face, before he turned around to survey the room.

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><p>Wendy had just gotten past the last of the door remains, when suddenly a slamming sound came from behind her. She spun around to see a metal wall now overtop of the exit that they had used, and could hear Gokudera pound on the door from the other side.<p>

"Gokudera-san!" she cried, before hurrying back over, also pounding on the door with one hand, the other arm still occupied with holding Carla.

Natsu was beside her not a second later, giving a hard punch to the door, but it didn't even dent. He growled darkly, and ignited his hand to try once more, but suddenly he lost his balance, falling to the floor that had suddenly moved.

Wendy glanced up from Natsu to see the door rising up, or rather, it seemed they were moving down. She desperately hit the door a few more times, but soon it rose past her reach, and through the ceiling of the space they were in.

With a lurch, the floor suddenly halted, and Wendy turned around to see another long hallway stretching ahead of them. However, this one seemed even more ominous.

The dirtied red carpet from before had been replaced with well-kept black tiles, which matched the now black stonewalls. The candles that had lit the way in the old hallways now had pale blue flames burning on their wicks, giving the whole place an eerie feeling. Due to the colour, they weren't as bright as regular ones, so shadows hugged the walls in the places where the light didn't reach, though the tiles seemed perfectly capable of giving off a faint gleam in the given illumination.

Wendy felt a foreboding shiver run up her back, but pushed it down again. Natsu had climbed to his feet by now, and quickly looked over everything. He took in a few breaths, before quickly beginning to walk again.

"He's close. Tsuna is nearby, but there's something different about him…" he muttered as he stormed past. However, Wendy, Carla, and Happy caught the words, and couldn't help but smile, before hurrying after the fire mage, excited that they may get to see the friendly brunette again.

Hibari merely stared for a moment, before heading after them, growling to himself.

"Herbivores…" he sighed, but if someone looked closely in his eyes, they could see that even he had a small relieved gleam in them at the prospect of finally being able to return to Tsuna.

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><p>Gokudera still had a deep scowl marring his face as he surveyed the room. He needed to save Juudaime, but here he was, stuck in a room. He felt deep anger well up inside of himself; it was his fault that Tsuna had gotten captured in the first place. If only he hadn't been slowed down by that bullet when he saved Gokudera… He shook his head in repulsion at himself. His mood only darkened when his eyes fell on the black scorch marks across the walls, from where he had tried to blast his way out, only to have absolutely no effect. Swearing mentally, he reached for another bomb, before freezing.<p>

A scorching heat was coming from behind him, and without a second thought, he threw himself to the side, rolling onto his feet again. He stared at the mass of flames that occupied the spot he had been in only moments ago. They suddenly started to reach towards him again, and he jumped to his feet, activating his Storm buckle as he did so.

Quickly, he launched a blast of storm flames at the fire, which died out rather quickly, the degeneration property of the red flames easily putting them out.

After he was certain that they had been put out, he turned in the direction from where the flames had originated. A man was sitting cross-legged on the floor against the wall, a playful smile on his face. His hair was shaggy and was an orange colour, falling down to just barely brush his shoulders. He wore a red tunic underneath a black vest, and had matching black pants on that were tucked into brown combat boots. Around his wrists he had red bands, and like all the other members of Blood Moon, had a pair of goggles, his being black and hanging off of his neck. Gokudera could see a red tattoo on the right side of his collarbone, and quickly distinguished it as his guild mark. His eyes were a light shade of silver mixed with an ivory, but they looked empty almost.

"Hey there Gokudera-kun. Something bothering you?" he asked, smirking as he took in the angry face of the silver haired teen.

"Who the hell are you bastard? And where's Juudaime?" Gokudera snarled back. His anger had been being pushed for the past few hours, and his hands itched to be able to blow something up.

"My, my, what a nasty temper you have there. I don't want to answer someone who has such an impolite way of speaking," the man replied, before smirking as Gokudera reached for his dynamite. He quickly stood and nimbly dodged the attack as it thrown, landing behind Gokudera.

"Ahh, fine then. The name's Akito, Akito Ariston. And as for Tsuna-chan, I can't tell you. Not like you'd be able to get out of this room again to find him anyways, but, guild master's orders," Akito responded, shrugging, before his eyes took on a dangerous gleam.

"Besides, I need to pay you jerks back for what you did to Cynthia," he growled, much to Gokudera's confusion. Before he could ask though, the orange haired man raised his hands, shooting out a blast of fire at Gokudera. He dodged, but the fire merely followed him, and the bomber quickly shot storm flames at it again, effectively extinguishing the flames to a small ember.

It floated down to the ground, but before it touched, the ember suddenly roared back life, shocking Gokudera. However, he still sent another blast of storm flames at it. It shrunk, but this time didn't go out. After a second it was back to normal size, and even as Gokudera continuously tried to degenerate it, it wouldn't even waver.

The flames broke free from the attack, and the teen barely got the shields from System C.A.I. up in time to block it. The flames went out after hitting the shield, but before they died, he spotted a yellow glimmer in the middle of it. Narrowing his eyes, Gokudera turned to face Akito again, and confirmed his suspicions. The man had a ring on that was currently glowing with yellow fire, or rather, sun flames.

Akito merely smirked again.

"Seemed you got a pretty bad match up. Degeneration against activation, plus the activation already found in fire," he commented non-chantley, only angering Gokudera further. However, the bomber was forced to go on the defensive again as another round of flames burst forwards. He ground his teeth as they skimmed his arm, burning it, before he could put them out with his shields.

Quickly he switched to an offensive stance, igniting his bombs.

"Rocket bomb, version X!" Gokudera yelled, before throwing them forwards, as the backs ignited for the forward propulsion. Akito, not expecting this, could only dodge swiftly. However, the homing abilities on them quickly had the dynamite turned and heading towards the older male again.

He raised his hand and launched fireballs at the dynamite, which effectively blew them up a harmless distance away.

Not being one to give up, Gokudera launched more. But the second they left his hand, fire roared up in front of them.

"Shi-!" Gokudera started to say, but the dynamite soon exploded. The blast sent him flying back, and he slid across the floor a few feet as well once he landed, stopping once he hit the wall. He lay there for a few moments, before coughing and pulling himself upright again.

Another barrage of flames was being sent towards him, and he quickly had to roll to the side in order to avoid the collision, which sent dust flying as it hit the stone.

A glance to the side revealed that while his dynamite had been ineffective, Akito's fire had blasted a hole in the wall, the sides of which were still smoldering. Quickly pulling himself to his feet, he ran through the hole and found himself in a small hallway. Glancing to either side, he saw a door on either end, and within a split second decided to go left. Throwing a few bombs in front of him, he blasted through the door, only to find himself another room with a steel wall on the far end. He launched three high-powered rocket bombs at it, and soon the whole room was filled with smoke, which leaked out into the hallway behind him.

Quickly waving away the smoke in his immediate area, Gokudera realized that a hole had been blown into the wall, and went through it. He found himself in a large, square room made of steel, and was filled with all kinds of wires and scrap pieces of metal. What caught his attention though were the three occupants of the room. Some man he didn't know was lying unconscious, but he instantly recognized the other two unmoving figures.

"Baseball-freak! Erza!" he yelled in surprise, but just then, he heard a chuckle come from behind him. Turning around, Akito emerged from the smoke that still hung in the air, smiling.

"This is the fate that all your comrades have been faced with, as with mine. They fought to the point of exhaustion, and though you may have won the battles, the guardians and fairy flies have been immobilized. It'll be a synch to kill them now, when they're all injured."

As Akito finished speaking, he threw flames towards the two people on the ground. Luckily Gokudera was able to put up his shields in time, but he knew he couldn't risk fighting here with Erza and Yamamoto like this.

He threw a smoke bomb, before darting back towards the hallway, yelling taunts all the while. As expected, Akito soon followed after him, and he kept running to the opposite side of the hall, where he burst through another door just as a blast of fire blew past him.

It blew a hole in the wall in front of him, which was stone, causing dust and debris to go flying. Coughing, a familiar yell caught Gokudera's attention.

"What the hell just happened!"

"THAT WAS AN EXTREME BLAST!"

"Shouldn't you be more worried about why there was just a random explosion?"

"YOU'RE EXTREMELY RIGHT, GRAY!"

"ARGH! What did I tell you about yelling? And this time it was right in my ear, too!"

"EXTREMELY SORRY!"

"GAH!"

As the dust settled down, Gokudera could make out two familiar forms, one clutching his head as he crouched on the floor, while the other one had his fists raised in the air.

"Oi! Turf-top! Pervert!" Gokudera yelled. They both turned to him, Ryohei's face splitting into a grin while Gray's darkened even further form his previous scowl brought on by the boxer's yelling.

"It's Tako-head!" Ryohei exclaimed, luckily in his 'quiet' yell again.

"I can see that idiot. And I'm not a fucking pervert!"

"Say's the guy who's currently in his boxers," Gokudera snorted, but suddenly found himself throwing himself to the ground as another fire blast roared past the spot he had just occupied.

"Tsk, tsk. Shouldn't ignore the person trying to kill you, Storm guardian," Akito reprimanded, stepping through the rubble of the stones. His eyes however immediately narrowed at the sight of Ryohei and Gray.

"You… you're the bastards that nearly killed Cynthia…" he growled, and within moments, flames surrounded his feet, licking up to his knees.

Gokudera had already gotten to his feet and stood a good 10 feet away from him.

"I'm your enemy, Akito. Not them," he growled, before shields suddenly surrounded the two, preventing them from moving or from getting harmed.

"Hey! Tako-head! We can fight too you know!"

"Hate to agree, but Ryohei's right, Bomb-brain."

Gokudera however didn't glance back at them.

"No, you can't fight in your state. You look fine but physically you're exhausted. You wouldn't be able to avoid his attacks in your state. Beside, only my shields can put out his flames, since they're infused with sun flames. And no Ryohei, you would not be effective since you're the same attribute," he replied, and Gray and Ryohei immediately closed their mouths. The ice mage knew that he had used too much magic power in the previous battle, and Ryohei himself had used up a large amount of sun flames between fighting, flying, and healing.

"Hmm? Trying to protect those worthless bugs that attacked Cynthia, eh? Well, I guess that their death can wait," Akito mused, before a sly smirk crept across his face. Gokudera scowled, but soon a similar smirk crossed his face.

"We'll see who's the one getting killed," he taunted back, before they both dashed forwards to confront each other.

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><p>Natsu swiftly made his way through the halls silently, the only noise filling the space being the group's footsteps on the tiled floor, though Hibari of course made no sound. Wendy trailed after him with Carla still in her arms, and Hibari walked behind them by a few paces. Happy was still currently flying in order to keep up, hovering beside Natsu's head, as they made their way through yet another long hallway.<p>

However, a loud noise suddenly reverberated through the space, and Natsu, Wendy, Carla, and Happy quickly turned back to see what had happened. They were shocked to see a wall right in front of them, looking like it had been there the whole time, but knew it wasn't. They also realized that Hibari was now cut off. Wendy took a step forwards, but just then, another slam echoed, and she whirled around to see that another wall had flashed down between herself and Natsu.

She let out a startled yelp, nearly dropping Carla who was still in her arms, when the floor beneath her lurched, and she found herself yet again being lowered to god knows where. Suddenly though the walls enclosing her vanished as she kept being lowered, and looking across from her, saw Hibari being lowered as well. She also saw that he was already holding his tonfas, glaring at the room they were in, with a killing aura radiating from him. Apparently, it seems that he is not happy with this latest development.

The place they were standing on lurched to a stop as they reached the floor, where it easily melded in. Glancing around quickly, Wendy scanned the room. It was rather large, and especially the ceiling, which was quite high, stood out. A staircase hugged the far wall, where it snaked up to the top of the room, though there didn't appear to be any sort of door there. The whole place was circular, and was made out of the same black tiles as the floor upstairs. Returning her gaze back to ground level, she soon spotted a newcomer standing a bit away from them.

They had on a light purple cloak, which covered their entire body, as well as their face, the only part of skin visible being their mouth. Beside her, Hibari's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and he raised his tonfas a bit higher into an attack stance.

"Herbivore, who are you?" he immediately asked, and the other person only let a small smile grace their features, before they undid a tie on the cloak, allowing them to throw it off.

It turned out that the person was actually a rather pretty woman. She had light violet hair that reached roughly mid-shoulder blade. On her torso, she wore a deep blue, sleeveless short shirt that showed her lower abdomen, and on her legs she wore matching baggy pants, with a green sash wrapped around her waist. On her feet, she wore black sneakers, and Hibari and Wendy spotted the corner of what looked like a purple tattoo on her lower right back, which they guessed would be the guild symbol. Her eyes were a blank grey shade, though underlying it all a faint glimmer of green could be seen.

"Nice to meet you, Wendy, Carla, Hibari. I'm Aria Mele, the highest-ranking person in Blood Moon next to Tarasu,' she greeted, smiling, and Wendy looked over her nervously. She had a black bow slung over one shoulder, with a full quiver of matching arrows peeking out from her back.

Hibari however, unlike Wendy, merely smirked, entertained almost. His tonfas caught a gleam of light from one of the torches that were in the room, though the light they produced looked like that of electricity for some reason.

"Prepare to be bitten to death," he responded, before charging forwards un-hesitantly.

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><p>Back in the hall, Natsu was absolutely fuming. In a rage, he lit his fist, before punching a hole in the wall, crumbling the whole structure. However, what greeted him was empty space, looking very much like it had when they walked through before, not even a scuff seen on the floor or a scratch in the stonewalls. Punching through the other one revealed the same thing, and his mood just took a turn for the worse. Even Happy felt anger, though mainly since Carla was taken. Spinning around again, Natsu broke into a run through the halls, his eyes darkened. Happy flew beside him as the made their way through the halls again.<p>

"I'll definitely make sure to get the bastard who runs this place to return everyone," he growled, before continuing on the silent run to find Tarasu.

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><p>Gokudera quickly dodged to the right as he approached Akito, but the older male quickly copied his movements. He raised a hand that had fire ready to be launched at anytime, obviously planning to make this a close-combat fight. However, Gokudera instead used one of his other shields, jumping on it before flying over Akito's head, creating some distance between them.<p>

The orange haired man raised an eyebrow, before lifting his hand to let lose the charged flames. Gokudera managed to dodge the majority of them with the shield, but the last one hit the side, sending it crashing to the ground. Gokudera landed ungracefully on his feet, as the shield shrunk down to the small black version it was in before being activated.

His eyes widened as a wall of flames was blasting towards him, and he activated his shield again just barely in time, though the sheer intensity of heat was more than enough to make breathing laboured. As the last of the flames died out, Gokudera was panting for breath, sucking in the now returning oxygen after the thin amounts from before.

Glaring, he panted heavily while Akito just smirked.

'_I'm really going to have to plan this out.'_

* * *

><p>Hibari had taken only a few steps before Aria already had an arrow knocked to her bow and was releasing it. Smirking, he merely moved out of its trajectory, but his eyes widened as it was enveloped in violet flames. Suddenly instead of one arrow, five were now heading towards him.<p>

Unable to dodge quickly enough, he raised a tonfa and knocked away, halting his run. However, he now looked at his tonfa in shock. Where the tip of the arrow had hit, about a centimetre of it was missing, having been chipped off. He knew that something was definitely different about her arrows, since to have managed to damage his tonfas with one strike was practically unheard of.

Another arrow was released, and like before it divided into five. He again had to block them with his tonfas, and again, the tips took off bits of the weapons.

Jumping back, he surveyed his opponent, who he seemed to have underestimated. She now held up her hand, where a purple flame was surrounding a ring.

"I'm also a cloud attribute user like you, Hibari. Pretty useful with my weapon choice, as well. Plus, there's magic infused with the arrowheads, so it can practically cut through anything," she smirked, and Hibari's eyes narrowed in distaste. They darted to the side however as Wendy took a step forwards, obviously to help in the battle. A growl from behind her immediately stopped her though, as she turned to see Hibari glaring at her.

"Back off herbivore, this herbivore is my prey," he warned, before running in again. As he ran he activated his Vongola Gear, and Roll happily popped out of the bracelet.

"Cambio Forma," he instructed, and with a small, "Kyu~!" Roll quickly changed form, Hibari now wearing the long black coat again. Another set of arrows was launched towards him, and he quickly jumped over them, knowing better than to try and block them with his tonfas.

Dodging again when more arrows were sent his way, he managed to get in front of Aria, his tonfas raised to attack her. As he swung them down however, she blocked with her bow.

"Wao," he stated, slightly surprised that she had close combat skills on top of everything. His slight pause gave her the chance to quickly jump away, and she landed gracefully on her feet. Knocking three arrows to her bow, she fired them, each of them dividing into five, until there were 15 arrows flying through the air towards Hibari.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!"

What almost looked like a blue-tinted hurricane suddenly was launched, colliding with the arrows and snapping them as they got blown off course. They landed on the ground uselessly, and a quick look back revealed that it was indeed Wendy who had cast the spell. Hibari however, only growled again.

"I don't need help to win my battle, herbivore," he repeated, before running towards Aria again.

* * *

><p>Wendy looked on helplessly as the prefect fought, however, most of the time he had to spend dodging, as even with just firing two arrows, he would have to dodge ten. It was obvious he was growing annoyed and frustrated with the situation, but still pushed on. Another 10 minutes passed, and he had only succeeded in getting slightly out of breath. Unable to take it anymore, Wendy yelled out to him.<p>

"Hibari-san! Please let us help you!"

"I already said no, herbivore. My answer won't change," he responded, glaring at her icily. She squeaked slightly and took a step back at the look, but just as quickly steeled herself.

"Stop being so stubborn, Hibari-san! Nothing has even happened after ten minutes. What makes you think it's going to change?"

Hibari's eyes narrowed, and he began walking back towards her. Aria meanwhile just watched, amused, wondering what would happen, rather than attacking while they were distracted.

Wendy gulped as the prefect now stood in front of her, a tonfa raised in front of her. However, she didn't relent.

"Besides, the battle is only dragging on. Don't you want to see Tsuna-san again?" she asked, and this made Hibari freeze.

Though he wouldn't admit it to anybody, he actually respected the small brunette, and would be lying if he said didn't care about him slightly, as proven in his fight against Adelheid during the Shimon conflict. Though Tsuna looked weak, when it came to his friends or family, he could easily take out someone twice his size or strength with sheer determination alone.

Hibari pondered over it for moment, before lowering his tonfa and turning around.

"Do what ever you want, herbivore," he responded over his shoulder. Wendy stood shocked for a moment, before sighing in relief. She quickly ran up to beside him and took up her own fighting stance, ready to go up against Aria again, who was still smirking, ready for the next attack.

'_I'll definitely help out Hibari-san. Wait for us, Tsuna.'_

'_Hn, you'd better be okay herbivore. It's going to be rather boring without you around.'_

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><p>AN: Woot, done! ^^ Again, I apologize for the wait. Especially since the chapter is just average length, only 5105 words long. OTL Ah well. And personally, I think that Hibari did seem like he cared during the fight Adelheid. Or maybe that's just me. Or a biased opinion from Reborn Wiki. Meh. *shrugs* Anyways, next chapter should be the last of all the small battles, and then they finally get to meet Tsuna again. Thank you to all who have reviewed, favourited, and alerted this story. If I could, I would give you all hugs, but not only would that be impossible (without me becoming some creepy stalker at least ._.) it would also slightly awkward I would think… Anyways, please keep up the reviews, and tell me what's good and bad about my writing. I'm always looking to improve it. Suggestions for the story are welcome as well. And please fill out the poll on my profile! Until next chapter then, ciao!


	15. Betrayal

A/N: I know I'm getting slower, and I'm really sorry about that. I'm not trying! It's just that school has been chaos lately, since in the last two weeks we've had at least three projects due, me often getting stuck with a lot of the work from the group ones, and we've also finished and moved on with three different units. OTL I also had to prepare for a music festival both in and out of school. Also doesn't help when you miss a week because you're sick. *sigh* Anyways, Spring Break just started, and I've resolved myself to writing as much as I can during it, so hopefully it'll make up for my recent slowness. ^^'

Connection of Complication: His thoughts right now are very limited, not really anything special, which is why he wasn't in the last chapter. I'm sorry about slowness for updates. I blame school. And what exactly surprised you?

kinglugia: Haha, you'll just have to wait and see. Right about now, Tsuna's kind of unpredictable anyways. :3 I'll see if I can work those scenes or something like them in. Kind of what I had in mind anyways. ^^ And I think that the guardians, Tsuna, and Fairy Tail will be overkill enough for them, but I'll see if there's some part leftover to kill. xD

OBSERVER01: I'm glad you liked it. Hope the rest of the chapters I post will keep up to standards. If there are any of course. ^^'

Aoi No Sora: It's fine. As much as they're appreciated, you don't have to worry about reviewing each chapter. ^^ And I've always hated the people who make Lucy weak, or useless. I think she can be very helpful personally. And I'm sure that Hibari will be fine. If he isn't I think I'll get killed by him, if his fangirls don't do it first. ._. And Wendy is adorable. I've always loved her. w Again sorry for slow updates. School is stupid. As is band. And harp. OTL

KatrinaKHR27: Sorry for slowness, I'm hoping to fix this soon, or at least catch up during spring break. x.x

A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: I'm glad I'm succeeding in making things intense. ^^ And you'll just have to wait and see if your intuition is correct. Is it sad that every time I hear the word intuition I can only think of KHR? I hope you enjoy the novels. :D My friends are trying to teach me Chinese. I can write 1-10 right now, and I think I remember the character used in 100, and 'more'. I epically fail at trying to pronounce things though. OTL And I think I've seen other things for the anime. I'm hoping to get around to watching it sometimes, but between band, harp, school, and fanfiction, I don't have much time. ^^' Vindice does seem a bit suspicious, but I'm eager to learn more about the clear pacifiers past. And I'm sure your writing isn't bad! I haven't read any of your stories, but you definitely have good grammar! I hate people who have bad grammar, the fics are always so confusing! I would try reading that fic, but I haven't watched more than a handful of DRRR! episodes, so I would fail at trying to follow. And don't worry about review length, I love long reviews! It's not as bad as my replies. *has her own laughter slowly fading off, albeit awkwardly*

The KHRFairytail addict: Sorry about the slow update. ^^' And Tsuna didn't really have anything to do, so inserting him would have been pointless, which is why he isn't there. And I'll be helping to cheer on Kyouya, though it's kind of pointless since I'm the author. xD Ah well.

Mafia Princess: Yeah, I'm sorry that all the OC fights have taken so long, but it would be kind of stupid to have all of them attacking Tarasu and Enrico at the same time, so this was the best way I figured to narrow it down, as well as have all the different flames. ^^'

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><p>Anyways, enough blabbering, enjoy the chapter! <strong>Oh, and please answer the poll on my profile!<strong>

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><p>"Fast wind that run the heaven… Vernier!" Wendy chanted, as an invisible gust picked up and ruffled her clothes slightly. Hibari glanced down in mild surprise as suddenly a blue magic circle formed under his feet, another wind gust ruffling his clothes a bit. Suddenly a faint glowing circle formed around him, the colour matching that of his flames, and he felt lighter. Running forwards, he was shocked at the speed at which he could now move, and he silently admitted that Wendy could very well be a useful ally.<p>

Aria was shocked at the sudden movement increase, but she also put more power into her fighting, sprinting as she dodged his dashes. She launched barrages of arrows at him, which he still had to avoid, but the fight wasn't nearly as one-sided now. Cursing slightly in her head, she suddenly whirled around to where Wendy stood, firing 10 arrows in her direction. However, before they could hit their target, Wendy had already moved out of the way, a blue magic glow encasing her as her movements also increased.

"You shouldn't turn your back on your opponent."

Aria quickly turned around again to see Hibari right behind her, arm drawn back and ready to strike. Within a second she had given out the support on her knees, quickly dropping down into a low crouch just in time to avoid the tonfa, which disturbed the air above her head. Hibari sent her a quick which she barely managed to block with her bow, sending her flying backwards, though she regained her footing by pushing her hand into the floor and flipping.

Glaring, she panted, beginning to lose her breath as Hibari just smirked in front of her.

"Time to end this," he said, before rushing again as she knocked three arrows to her bow.

* * *

><p>Gokudera cursed as he yet again had to dodge another barrage of flames heading his way.<p>

"You're not getting anywhere with just dodging Bomb-brain!"

The silver haired teen shifted his gaze slightly to where the two others where behind Akito. They were both sitting cross-legged on the ground, an apparent bored expression on their faces. Gokudera ground his teeth in agitation.

"I know that stupid pervert! But it's better than getting roasted to death! I promised Juudaime that I wouldn't charge recklessly into situations or put my life in danger, that I would make sure to return to see the fireworks together. I'm not breaking that promise now," he replied stubbornly, but then suddenly a laugh rang out. Gokudera glared over at Akito who was doubled over and laughing harshly, clutching the sides of his stomach. When he looked up again, he had small tears in his eyes from laughing to hard, and he tried to control another round of laughter when he looked at Gokudera.

"Bastard, what the hell is so funny?" Gokudera growled, agitated. Akito straightened up, but he still had a grin on his face.

"Your little speech there is what I find so amusing. Return so you can see the fireworks together? Promising to not put your life at risk? Do you think that Tsuna cares about any of that right now? He'd rather have you put your life on the line to save him than hold up some stupid promise. I can't believe that you would actually buy something like that," he sneered, before laughing again.

Gokudera's eyes widened for a moment, before they narrowed again, glaring even further.

"What the hell would you know?" he snarled.

"Oh, all kinds of things. Honestly, if Tsuna had to choose, would he really pick your life over his? Do you honestly think of him as someone that righteous?"

"I do," Gokudera immediately replied, and this only brought on another chuckle from Akito, before he turned to the other occupants.

"And what about you? Do you think that your dear Vongola would have the courage to risk his life for you guys, like what your doing to him? That skinny, cowardly brat who can't even grasp a simple math concept?"

Ryohei and Gray both glared at Akito, his words angering them.

"Of course Sawada would protect us to the extreme! He's done it before, against stronger opponents than you!" Ryohei yelled, a fierce determination in his eyes.

"I haven't known Tsuna for that long, but I'm sure that he's the kind of person who would recklessly risk his life for others. I saw it when Gokudera was about to be shot, and I don't doubt that he's done it other times, even for those he doesn't know very well," Gray put in his own opinion, and Akito only shook his head, before turning back to Gokudera.

"Seems that all of you have been hopelessly convinced that he's a man that he isn't really. Dame-Tsuna risking his life for you? Ha, I'd like to see that. If he was faced with risking his life to save you or walk away perfectly unscathed and without involvement in anything, then he would run away with his tail between his legs. How you managed to think otherwise, I'll never kn-"

"Shut up!"

Akito froze in surprise at the sudden yell from the storm guardian, his head bowed and bangs covering his eyes.

"You don't know a thing about the tenth, yet you talk like you've known him all his life. So what if his name's Dame-Tsuna? So what if he's cowardly? When he has friends that he need to protect, you can be certain that he'll protect them. That's why I follow him, that's why I look up to him."

Gokudera raised his head, determination and resolve in his eyes.

"And that's why I'll defeat you for his sake."

A blast resounded right from behind Akito, and an explosion sent him flying forwards, yelping at the painful explosives. Staggering to his feet, his eyes widened as more bombs were thrown at him. Quickly, he set them aflame, the blast throwing him backwards a safe distance away from Gokudera. Glaring, he warily scanned his surroundings, looking for any hidden bombs that might be ready to blow. However, his eyes spotted nothing, and he turned his gaze back to Gokudera, only to see rocket bombs version X propelling towards him.

He dived, quickly rolling out of the way, but the dynamite merely shifted its course. He threw another wall of flames at them, effectively disabling the grouping of lethal weapons. Turning around to face Gokudera, he only had a second to think and register any thoughts as he was faced with at least 8 rocket bombs right in front of him. He just managed to cover his head with his arms before they exploded, a cry tearing from his throat due to pain, as he was sent flying before he slammed into the ground, his neck snapping back as his head cracked against the floor.

Smoke rose up from the blasts, and the only sound heard was Ryohei and Gray's coughing as the inhaled the murky air.

As the smoke cleared, everyone was able to make out Akito lying on the ground, his clothes charred and small parts of skin burnt, and his hair smouldering slightly. He was alive, but if the blood flow coming from his head was anything to go by, he was knocked out, though head wounds always did bleed excessively. The shields that had surrounded Ryohei and Gray suddenly moved away, and surrounded the unconscious form on the ground, ensuring hat he wouldn't be moving even if he woke up anytime soon, and barely leaving enough room for him to move into a low crouch, let alone attack if he did.

Gokudera staggered slightly as he walked over to the others who were already on their feet. He collapsed just as they reached him, and Gray caught his shoulders, preventing the bomber from landing face-first into the hard flooring. The fight had obviously taken out a lot of Gokudera's energy, and especially his flames, which he had used to power his shields. A small Uri walked over to her master, having completed her job at catching Akito of guard. She sat down beside where Gray was now laying Gokudera, as he had already fallen asleep, his body restoring the much-needed energy that was apparent after the adrenaline rush ended.

Ryohei and Gray themselves settled down, both still rather tired from their overuse of power from their recent battle. The both just had to hope that Hibari, Wendy, and Natsu would be able to rescue the teen that they all either looked up to, or treasured as a friend.

_Juudaime/Sawada/Tsuna, be safe._

* * *

><p>The arrows were let loose as cloud flames engulfed and propagated them, but instead of the 15 that should have been there, 21 were aimed at Hibari. Extending his leg quickly, he jumped over the line of arrows, only to have to block another one that had been heading straight towards his heart. Another chink in his tonfas appeared, and he frowned agitatedly at that.<p>

He landed on the grand gracefully, as chains dropped out of the ends of his tonfas. Making circles with the ends of his tonfas, he soon got the hooked chains whirling around quickly, just barely missing the floor. He put one of the whirling tonfas in front of him as more arrows attacked, and they were effectively snapped, the chain hitting the wooden shaft rather than the head.

Growling, Aria suddenly smirked, and Hibari's eyes narrowed before felt something coming from his back. Whirling around, he was just able to hit the arrow that had been aimed at him while his back was turned, and a quick glance at Aria showed her hand to be sporting a miniature tornado.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention this. In truth, I'm actually a wind mage," she informed smugly, before releasing four arrows, not bothering to propagate them. Hibari moved to dodge them, but a wind encased the weapons, and their course redirected towards him. Hibari dropped to the ground just in time to avoid being hit, and he heard them hit the wall behind him, easily lodging themselves in the black tiles thanks to the magic at the tips.

It was at this point though that Wendy's spell wore off, as did her own. She panted from the exertion of magic she had held so long, but was happy that she had at least helped Hibari, even if only a little.

Aria launched another three arrows, this time dividing them into the usual 15 again, and the wind caught them, holding them in position. There were each pointed at Hibari in a circular fashion, and varying on levels. Whirling around, the prefect quickly realized that any escape route was blocked, and even if he tried to charge through, the arrows behind him would immediately shoot into his back if he couldn't block them in time.

However, an idea struck him, and he inwardly smirked, outwardly only glaring. He faced Aria, who was happily grinning at him, a hand raised as she kept the arrows suspended.

"Well, it seems like the game is over, Hibari. Time for me to finally pierce you through," she announced smugly, before flicking her hand. The arrows immediately shot forwards, but before they could reach their target, large spiked balls suddenly inflated around Hibari. They impaled them, but were unable to break through.

As soon as the shields had served their purpose, they shrunk and disappeared into cloud flames again, the arrows falling with a clatter to the ground. Aria stood shocked for a moment, but didn't have long to debate before a blast from behind slammed into her while she had been lost in thought.

"Sky dragon's roar!"

Wendy sent Aria flying forwards to where Hibari was, and he swung his tonfa at the lavender haired woman. Before it could connect with the side of her head though, she put her bow in front of it, and the two weapons collided solidly, her being pushed back as she was in mid air and landing a few feet away.

She was only down for a second before she was back on her feet. Surprisingly enough, instead of reaching for more arrows, she pulled at the top end of the bow's string, undoing it and completely removing the string before letting it fall to the ground at her feet.

Gripping either end of now fairly straight bow, she turned it with a click, and the middle split into two separate halves. The outer casing slid off, and now instead of a quiver, she was equipped with two long steel daggers.

Hibari dashed forwards with his tonfas, but she deftly blocked him by crossing the daggers into an X shape. Pushing back, she managed to free one of them and block the other tonfa just before it rammed into her side – no doubt that would have been a painful blow.

They broke apart by only a step, before swift blows were exchanged. The clang of metal against metal echoed in the large room, and surprisingly enough Aria was able to keep up. Not so surprising though was that she was steadily being pushed back, and she was on more of a defensive than anything.

However, she was still able to get hits in, and Hibari growled darkly as she got a long scratch on his cheek. His coat was slightly torn in spots from where she had gotten a quick slash in, and almost all of them had gotten through far enough to break the skin.

As she blocked another hit, the side a blade slid into one of larger nicks on Hibari's weapon. Swiftly sweeping his tonfa to the side, Hibari managed to tear the weapon out of her grip and it fell with a clatter away from her.

She was about to retrieve it with her wind magic, but she had to quickly block another attack from the raven-haired teen. She managed to catch the other tonfa with her hand, but she couldn't stop from grinding her teeth at the sharp pain resulting.

Acting quickly though, she tightened her grip around the tonfa, and moved her other blade. This gave Hibari the chance he needed, and his free weapon snapped forwards as it connected sharply with her skull. However, just before this she had managed to impale her dagger into his side, causing it to begin seeping out blood. Now though, she crumpled to the ground unconscious due to the hit.

Her grip fell off of the blade, and Hibari only got a few steps back from her before he fell onto one knee, panting. He gripped the blade firmly, and, clenching his jaw, pulled the dagger out in one fluid movement. Gasping in pain, he threw it away from him as soon as it was free. Blood seeped out of the wound quickly now though, and he pushed down on it, only succeeding in slowing it slightly.

He glanced over as Wendy quickly ran over to him, crouching down as she reached him. He tried to growl in agitation at the closeness of her as well as Carla who had followed worriedly, but the loss of blood was making his head light and sapping his strength. She reached forwards with her hands, hovering them away from the puncture a few inches, before they glowed a light blue. Hibari's laboured breathing evened out suddenly, and he pulled his hand away in surprise as the blood flow stopped. Through the hole torn in his clothes, he saw the skin mending back together firmly, and as her hands stopped glowing, the wound finished completely healing, now only a sharp throb.

Blinking, he turned towards her just as she closed her eyes and fainted, most likely due to overexertion and using too much magic. Hibari quickly caught the blue-haired girl before she could hit the ground, surprising even himself, but nevertheless laid her carefully down on the ground, instead of dropping her like most anyone would expect of the cold prefect.

Roll meanwhile returned to his bracelet, and Hibari's long coat transformed back into his usual one, only a few tears adorning it.

Carla stood back as she looked over all of this, before sighing and walking away, heading towards the stairway to check and see if there was any way out of the room currently.

Hibari watched for a moment, before lying down himself, covering a yawn with his hand. The long forgotten Hibird, who had been observing everything from up at the ceiling, now flitted down and settled on top of the prefects chest, said teen's breathing already evened with sleep.

Carla sighed as she walked up the stairs while looking at the two sleeping people, as well as the one unconscious one. Turning her attention back to the stairs, she had a feeling that she wouldn't find anything to help them escape, but still tried anyways. She just prayed that Natsu would be enough to rescue Tsuna.

* * *

><p>Tarasu blinked in surprise as Tsuna went unconscious, and pulled out his hologram projector again, which was connected to cameras around the base that Cynthia had set up before hand. Viewing the area where Akito was supposed to be revealed a destroyed wall and empty room. Quickly switching over to other rooms that were accessible through that way, he soon found them in the place that Cynthia was designated to fight in.<p>

He spotted Akito's unconscious form, as well as Cynthia's and Gokudera's, Ryohei and Gray being the only occupants still awake. He turned of the projector then, having confirmed that someone else had been defeated.

"Did another one lose?" Enrico asked, not really having paid attention to the device. Tarasu glanced at him for a moment, before turning his gaze back to the table they sat at, yawning as he put his feet on it.

"Yeah, Akito did. Actually managed to blast a hole in his room's wall even, so they were in a separate place entirely. Didn't change the outcome of course," Tarasu replied, before closing his eyes. Enrico stared at him for a moment, then sighed and tried to get comfortable in the chair that he had been occupying for the past however long. He just hoped that all these stupid battles would be over soon.

* * *

><p>Tsuna blinked his eyes open, and immediately recognized the area that he was standing in, the usual white foggy expanse greeting his gaze. The fog began moving into shapes again, and the world around him was soon being coloured and solidified as another past was revealing itself.<p>

The sight that greeted him was destruction, what looked like a whole town in rubble. Squinting, he thought he could see a huge monster of some sort in the distance, but fumes from the few fires around him soon covered up the shape.

Sobbing pulled him back from his thoughts, and he began walking towards the sound. Soon, he found the source in the form of a boy who couldn't be older than 7, and had slightly long orange hair, Tsuna easily identifying him as Akito Ariston from his implanted knowledge.

Akito was hunched over an elderly woman, her brown hair streaked with silver, and small wrinkles forming on her face due to her age, though she still looked quite healthy. However, her form was unmoving, and Tsuna knew she had passed on, most likely from a large boulder the same size as her torso that now lay beside her, probably after Akito pushed it off.

"Oh-baah-sahn…" he whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried to stifle his crying.

"It's their fault. It their… fault… the light guilds… They didn't do a thing to stop Deliora, and now…"

He broke into sobs before he could finish whatever he was trying to say, and Tsuna felt his heart clench in grief, yet another one of the only emotions he seemed to feel, all of them being negative like hate, anger, sadness, sorrow, revenge. The sound of crying seemed to still echo as the scene whirled into that of white mist, and then the building that Tsuna was growing used to seeing appeared again.

Akito stood in front of it now, and Tsuna saw that his eyes had hardened, and an almost mocking smirk was on his face. He also looked to be roughly fifteen now, so it seemed to have taken him eight years since the passing of what Tsuna assumed to be his grandmother to reach Blood Moon. He raised his hand and confidently knocked on the large doors, before waiting for an answer.

The door creaked open, and Cynthia stood there, blinking owlishly at him, though the smile she wore since she got revenge was still on her face.

"Is this Blood Moon?" he asked in a cheerful voice, but Tsuna could tell that it was a false emotion.

"Sure is!" Cynthia replied easily smiling, before tilting her head slightly. "Are you looking to join us?"

Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed both of Akito's hands in her own in joy, and oddly childish act despite the fact that she was probably sixteen.

"I'm Cynthia Maoru by the way. Anyways, come on! We need to introduce you to the others as well as Master. I can't believe there's finally someone younger than me in the guild now…"

Her voice faded as Akito was pulled into the large building, a look of bewilderment on his face, but a small blush was noticeable on his cheeks before the shadows from the doorway covered both his and Cynthia's forms.

* * *

><p>The memory faded, and Tsuna felt his consciousness resurface, before it was suddenly yanked away again, and his let of a short yelp due to the small pain resulting from the sudden action as fog again surrounded him.<p>

Within a few seconds it had melded into a town, and Tsuna's eyes widened as he saw people running from others who were demolishing the place with magic. As the others only tried to attack or defend with tools or their hands, he realized that it seemed that they – who most probably were the ones that lived in the town – had no kind of magic to help them.

The other thing he noticed were the guild marks. Fairy Tail. His eyes widened as he recalled Tarasu's story.

His town had no magic, only their own strength. The travelers that had come, and then… Fairy Tail… who destroyed his town…

Tsuna realized that it was in fact Tarasu's home town that he now stood in and watched get destroyed. A cry of pain caught his attention, and he spun around to see a girl clenching her hair that a mage was holding her by. Her hair was a lavender colour, her eyes a soft green colour, and she couldn't be older than seven. Tsuna identified her as Aria, and was shocked that she had come from the same town as Tarasu.

Suddenly, the mage who had been attacking her keeled over, a knife sticking out of his back, and Tsuna saw that one of the townsfolk had helped Aria. However, not a second later the man was shot, and his body fell down beside the person he had just killed.

Aria was frozen for a second, before she spun around and sprinted away, tears of fear, anguish, and horror coming to her eyes. She soon turned down into a small alley, and crouched down, hands covering her ears as she shivered, trying to block out the screaming around her.

The setting suddenly shifted, and it seemed to be the morning of the next day. Aria had probably fallen asleep, as she now rubbed her eyes tiredly while blinking. Standing up shakily, she stagger out of the alley, only to stop in her tracks. Tsuna followed, and realized why. The whole town was in ruin. Building had entire floors blown away, rubble littered the ground and clogged up the rivers running through the town, causing the water to spill onto the banks and through the streets. The worst thing though, was that there were bodies scattering the ground sparsely, almost all of them belonging to the towns people for those who had defied the destruction.

Sobs shook her frame as Aria fell to her knees, shaking her head like she didn't believe what had happened.

With the heart-wrenching scene of her despair, the scene faded into mist again, and formed into another town, during the middle of the night.

Aria, now looking roughly nine or so, stood glaring at three people who seemed to be angered at her for some reason. They stood in the middle of the street, the three others being men somewhere in their early 20's. Aria seemed to have acquired her weapons by now, as she had a bow and quiver slung over her shoulder, though they were rather large on her, no doubt meant for an adult.

"What did you say you brat?" one of them snarled, taking a menacing step forwards. Aria only snorted though, rolling her eyes as she adjusted her quiver slightly.

"So you're deaf now too? Why am I not surprised?"

"Why you-"

"Why you what? Brat? Not something that's new to me, bastard. Light guilds are getting really pathetic aren't they? Wouldn't surprise me if you only do job requests half-assed, when you do them at all. What kinds of job do you take anyways? Pet watching? Weeding? You'd probably screw those up even."

"That it, I can't hold back anymore," another snarled, and glared hatefully at Aria while reaching for a weapon.

"Oh? Are the light guilds so pathetic that you need three people to gang up on one girl now? Didn't think you could sink so low."

The three people suddenly jumped as a voice sounded from behind them, and they spun around to see another kid, also nine. Tsuna quickly recognized him as Tarasu, and he stood defiantly in front of them. The men growled as yet again another person stood up and insulted them, but it also made them notice that now they were attracting a crowd, despite the time.

"Come on guys, let's go. Leave the brats alone," the first who spoke sneered, and the others scowled before following them. With their disappearance, the few people who had stopped continued on their way, leaving only Aria and Tarasu behind.

"You alright?"

"Of course. Did you honestly think I couldn't handle people like that?" Aria retorted, and Tarasu only laughed.

"Just being courteous. Can't hurt to ask, right? Oh, I'm Tarasu Rinen by the way. Why do you hate light guilds, anyways?"

"Aria Rinen. And they massacred half of my town's population and destroyed the town itself as well. How could I not hate them?" she retorted spitefully. Tarasu's eyes widened at that.

"The town wouldn't to have been a fishing port, with no magic, and Fairy Tail came after they 'attacked' three travelers, would it?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, but how did yo- No way. You're from… I mean… you also…?" Aria tried to stutter out something, but couldn't. However, Tarasu understood her, and he nodded as a melancholy smile crept onto his face while his head lowered slightly.

"Yeah," he replied, before raising his face as he extended a hand.

"Why don't you come with me? Together we can learn magic strong enough to beat the light guilds, and together we can get them back for what they did?" he asked, smiling. Aria stood there in shock for a moment, before reaching out and taking a few steps until she could firmly grasp his hand.

"All right. Let's make it a promise then. Together."

Tarasu gave a light-hearted chuckle, before nodding.

"Un. It's a promise."

Tsuna blinked as time seemed to freeze, and slowly the scene turned into the familiar white mist, before his vision blackened as he resurfaced to consciousness.

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><p>Tarasu saw Tsuna stir, and was about to say something when he fainted again to see another memory. He frowned, before his eyes widened. Quickly, Tarasu grabbed his hologram display and set it on the table before activating it, a scene of a black tiled room filling his vision. But clear as day, he saw Aria laying on the ground, unconscious, a look of pain on her face.<p>

His mind froze with shock, before he lowered his head, bangs shadowing his eyes. Enrico went to say something, but stopped as Tarasu's hand flashed out, pushing something on the device and the scene changed to a hall. In it, Natsu was seen running while Happy flew beside him. Clicking another button, a map popped. It showed a red dot for where the two men's and Tsuna's position was, and a blue one that represented Natsu and Happy was swiftly moving across the map.

Doing quick calculations, Enrico figured that it would only be a minute or so before the two found them. A soft groan filled his ears though, and he turned over to where Tsuna had slumped in a chair and was now opening his eyes. Tsuna rubbed his head lightly perhaps in pain, but after blinking a few times, seemed to be completely normal again. Or at least as normal as he could be after brainwashing and memory implants.

Tarasu raised his head, his eyes emotionless, and looked over at Tsuna.

"Natsu is almost here," he stated coldly, and Tsuna's eyes darted over to the man.

"What do you want me to do about him?"

"Is it not obvious?" Tarasu questioned, and a cruel smirk lit up his face. Tsuna just nodded in reply, understanding what the black haired man meant.

Not a second later, a pound came on the door. Enrico shifted over to where Tarasu sat, while Tsuna stood up. Another pound came, and then suddenly the door was smashed in. Natsu stormed in, fists blazing, with Happy hovering worriedly beside him.

Their eyes darted through the room, before landing on Tsuna. The brunette didn't even blink though, and stared coldly at them.

"Tsuna! You're alright!" Natsu exclaimed, a grin replacing the serious look he had beforehand.

Again not reacting to anything the fire mage said, Tsunayoshi reached into his back pocket, taking out his pills and mitts. He put the wool items on before swallowing two pills, and the orange flame on his forehead appeared. However, instead of the pure orange that it should have been, it was murky colour, and flecks of black appeared in it, both on his forehead and in his hands.

"Natsu Dragneel, age unknown, member of Fairy Tail since young. One of the strongest people in the guild besides S class wizards, Makarov, and a few others. His partner is Happy, an exceed which looks like a cat with wing magic and has the ability to speak as well as walk like a human being. Also a member of Fairy Tail."

Happy's eyes widened slightly.

"Tsuna…? Are you… alright?" he asked tentatively, not used to the usually friendly brunette's almost monotone personality now.

"Past meetings with them, none. Relations to them, none. Emotional connections, none. Physical or emotional damage done to me or those I know after death, none."

Natsu's eyes widened at Tsuna's words, making it sound like they had never even met before.

"Tsuna, what are you-"

His words were cut off as suddenly a fist slammed into him, sending him sprawling backwards. Natsu stared wide-eyed up at Tsuna, who merely blinked.

"I would suggest that you fight back. You may live a bit longer that way," he stated, before preparing to attack again.

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><p>AN: Whew, the memory went a bit longer than planned. ^^' Ah well, it extended the chapter at least. xD A total of 6,105 words! *fist pump* I know that Tsuna's a jerk in this, but time will soon solve everything. So please, put up with jerk Tsuna for now. OTL, Again I'm sorry for slowness, life has just been hectic lately. But spring break should allow me to catch up at least. :3 Thank you to everything who has favourite or alerted the story, and especially thanks to those who reviewed! Anyways, I'm quite excited for the next chapter. I have plans for it, even if right now they're only in my head. ._. Until then though, ciao!

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><p><strong>Oh, and if you have time, please fill out the poll on my profile. I'll post quick summaries of the story ideas I have right now if you want.<strong>


	16. Reunion, But Not The Expected One

A/N: What's this? A fairly quick update? The apocalypse must be coming!

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><p>Memory Chart:<p>

Memory 6: This one was about Akito. He was living with his Grandmother in a town that was eventually destroyed by Deliora, and his Grandmother was killed during the attack. He blamed the light guilds for not doing anything, so wanted to get revenge on them for her death. Cynthia was the one who answered him when he went to Blood Moon, and her peppy attitude had him forming a crush on her instantaneously, which is why he was so angry with Gray and Ryohei after they defeated her.

Memory 7: This was Aria's past. She was part of the same town as Tarasu, though all her family members and friends were killed during the attack. She was then seen taunting wizards about being pathetic, and soon Tarasu joins. Upon finding out that they were both from the same town and had the same views, they learned magic together, and made their way to Blood Moon. Aria would be the person that Tarasu was referring to when he explained his past, and their bond is rather close, as seen after Tarasu found out about her defeat.

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><p>Ignisha: You'll just have to wait and find out. ^^ Anyways, hope that this chapter isn't too boring!<p>

cael05: Yes, finally Tsuna gets to do something other than sit in a chair and look at random memories. xD

icefox94: Sorry the confrontation took so long. Blame the OC's for dragging out the battles. ._. And you just have to hope for Natsu, otherwise he's gong to be in trouble. xD And I'll have to see if Na-tsu will come out. I haven't decided yet actually. ^^'

OBSERVER01: Definitely difficult. But it'll still be interesting to read about hopefully. :3

kinglugia: As far as I know, not yet. If you look at Tsuna before he activates his HDWM before fighting his dad for the first time, you can see him swallowing his pills, so he has yet to gain that ability. ^^' And I'm thinking of putting them in if this story goes on long enough. I personally have a soft spot for Enma. x3

Roith and Lorette: Yes, it is. And I can't help but like this side as well. I've always liked it when he seems almost emotionless or super mature. *nods* And I have to wonder how Tsuna's parts made much sense without reading the rest of he chapter, but, meh. xD And I too am a complete fan of Tsuna's. -w- I wish you luck with paying for the window.

TheCrazy CatWho LovesTo HugChairs: Nice to know that you enjoyed it. ^^ But, what would you say would be an acceptable chapter length? I always though that if I got 5500 or above it was good. ._. And again, I'm sorry for slowness. OTL School was being a jerk.

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><p><strong>Please fill out the poll if you can. It will be up until the end of the Blood Moon conflict! .w.<strong>

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><p>"Tsuna, what's wrong with you!" Natsu yelled, but gained no reaction from the brunette. Instead he merely moved to punch him again, forcing Natsu to backflip out of way. The ground that Tsuna hit soon had cracks run through it, and Natsu stared in shock as a circle of ground around Tsuna cracked and caved in as the ground was shattered. He shivered, not wanting to think about what would have happened if that hit had connected with him.<p>

Straightening again, Natsu's eyes widened as he saw Tsuna's. Instead of the warm laughing brown that they always used to be, they were ash grey and dull, almost clouded. His usual smile was wiped clean and replaced with a neutral expression, and the usual lightness that radiated from him was gone and replaced with a bleak one that spoke of pain.

"Tsuna…" Happy murmured worriedly. Tsuna however only blinked, barely sparing the exceed a glance.

"Like I said, fight. Unless you want to die within the next ten seconds," Tsuna stated emotionlessly, before seeming to vanish in a blur. Natsu instinctively jumped just as Tsuna suddenly appeared behind him, sweeping his leg around. A punch was aimed right at Natsu while he couldn't manoeuvre in the air, but Happy grabbed him and pulled Natsu out of the way just in time, the punch whistling past them by a few inches.

Happy flew up by twenty feet, close to the roof of the dark room they currently occupied, but Tsuna just increased the flames on his hands and shot up to their position. The blue cat swiftly moved to the side just in time to avoid Tsuna, but the brunette used the momentum from the punch to spin himself around and was soon dashing towards them.

"Tsuna! Stop! Can't you remember us?" Natsu yelled, as he and Happy barely dodged another hit from the smaller teen.

"What's to remember? I haven't met you before," he responded, shocking Natsu and Happy.

"What do you mean you haven't met us before! What about the past week you've been in Fairy Tail!"

Tsuna's eyes flashed at that, and he increased his speed, landing a solid punch to Natsu's gut. The fire mage coughed as the air was forced out of his lungs and felt a small amount of bile rise up in his throat, but forced it down again as Happy frantically tried to dodge the attacks.

"Been in Fairy Tail? Why would I join that filthy guild? Why would I join a light guild in general, or even have contact with them? You who only protect those who use magic or are part of your towns. You who look down on people who can't use magic," Tsuna snarled as he sent a kick their way.

Another five minutes passed in silence, and the whole time Natsu and Happy were forced to be on the defensive.

Finally they broke apart, Tsuna landing lightly on his feet looking no worse for wear, while Happy shakily placed Natsu on the ground, exhausted, and even Natsu was out of breath himself.

"Why are you attacking us anyways Tsuna! What have we done wrong? You make it sound like you think light guilds are as bad as dark ones," the pink haired teen growled out, and Tsuna's eyes hardened again.

"Why do you make it sound like light guilds are good? I've seen the memories of those your group had to fight. How their lives were ruined by the light guilds doing nothing, or killing family members. Fairy Tail destroyed an entire town, massacring over half of the town. And you're trying to make your guild sound like something good? It's no wonder why I'm trying to kill you!" Tsuna yelled, his dull eyes burning with a smothered flame almost. Natsu was, needless to say, shocked.

"What are you talking about? Attacking towns? Killing people? That's exactly what dark guilds do. We light guilds help out people who ask for it!"

"Exactly, only if they ask you and will give you a reward in return. Not helping them because it's the right thing to do. Your so called helping is only granted to those who can give you compensation," Tsuna snarled back in reply, and Natsu stared at him again.

"Sure people give us rewards for helping them, but we've helped out without a reward before," Natsu countered, only earning a snort from Tsuna. But as the brunette opened his mouth to speak again, another voice cut through the room.

"As entertaining as this is, I think it's about time for the main event. All of this will be pointless here after all."

Natsu's gaze darted behind Tsuna to where a man with a black jacket, slim black shirt, black cargo pants, and military boots stood. His eyes narrowed as he took in the appearance of the man, his hair black with the occasional red streak.

"Bastard, who are you?" the dragon-slayer growled out, glaring. Tarasu only gave him a slightly amused look though, as he strapped silver braces on his bare arms, having rolled up the jacket sleeves.

"I'm Tarasu, the guild master of Blood Moon. Anyways, I'm taking Gokudera, Yamamoto, Chrome, Mukuro, Ryohei, Hibari, Wendy, Erza, Gray, and my members up to the roof. Lucy is already there. Please also make your way up there, though I ask that wait 5 minutes first. It will make for a better effect," he responded, before solely talking to Tsuna. Natsu's eyes widened at that, but before he could say anything, a blast of wind picked up, taking Tarasu with it, as well as someone else Natsu had just noticed.

Turning to Tsuna, he saw the teen completely unaffected by Tarasu's announcement.

"What did he mean by that, Tsuna? What's going to happen to them!" Natsu asked, hoping the brunette would have the answers he wanted as to the fate of his friends. However, Tsuna merely shrugged, a neutral mask on his face.

"No clue," he stated, not even looking the least bit worried by all of this. Natsu growled darkly at this.

_I swear, when I find out who did this to Tsuna, they are going to wish they were never born. Hell will seem like paradise once I'm through with them._

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><p>Carla tapped the wall at the top of the stairs again, sighing. She had been examining it for the past 5 minutes, but still, found nothing to use as an escape route. Activating her wings, she flew easily back to the ground where the others where. As she landed, she noticed Wendy stir slightly before cracking open her eyes. Yawning, she sat up slowly, still rather tired.<p>

Not a second later though, a sudden wind gust picked up, and the two looked up alarmed. Beside them, Hibari's eyes snapped open as the wind pulled him out of his sleep. Wendy let out a short yell of surprise as suddenly the wind picked her up, and above her the stone tiles opened again, seeming endless though she could make out a faint light at the end of the passage. She grabbed onto Carla tightly as she was steadily lifted up through the area, and a quick glance down showed Hibari also being lifted, as well as the still unconscious Aria, though she had to wonder why the wind seemed less violent and almost gentle around the violet haired woman.

She didn't have long to think though, as suddenly she was lifted out of the building completely, crying out softly as the wind suddenly died out from beneath her and she stumbled a bit to maintain her balance as the wind disappeared. Beside her Hibari landed on his feet easily, and the wind placed Aria elsewhere lightly, making sure not to jostle her. Hibari's eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he raised a tonfa, ready to fight again if needed, but soon he lowered it again as some familiar faces were also joining them.

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><p>Ryohei was off to the side, practicing punches as usual, while Gokudera had woken up a while ago, now pacing agitatedly. Gray sat off to the side, ignoring them both and instead staring at where the other occupants were. Surprisingly enough, Akito had awoken a few minutes ago, though he now just stared at where Cynthia lay, not even trying to escape.<p>

The ice mage blinked though as a wind gust seemed to start up from nowhere, enveloping each member of the room in a separate torrent. His eyes widened as he felt himself being lifted up, but when he tried to stand he would just lose his balance again, or if he tried to move to the side, a wall of wind would just spring up that was impossible for him to get through, preventing any means of escape.

Glancing up, Gray saw the roof rushing towards him, and he closed his eyes bracing himself for an impact. However, when it didn't come, he cracked open an eye only to be greeted with darkness, and judging by the way the sound echoed, he seemed to be in an enclosed space. Abruptly, he burst out into open air, and though he was in shadows, he still had to squint his eyes due to the brightness compared to the darkness in the guild.

The wind died down and he just managed to land on his feet. A string of curses reached his ears, and blinking, he turned around to see Gokudera sitting on the ground holding his head, apparently having fallen on his head. Gray would have laughed as Ryohei was similarly dumped on the ground, but grew wary as Akito and Cynthia were also lifted out of the patch missing in the roof of the guild and moved to the side where another figure lay. It was also then that he noticed the other people coming up, as well as a stranger, who was regarding them all with cold eyes.

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><p>Yamamoto blinked his eyes open slowly, a large yawn escaping his mouth. Groggily, he forced himself to sit up, his muscles still stiff from the fight against Milo. He heard a slight clinking sound beside him, and saw that Erza was also stirring, her armour hitting the steel floor to make the clinking noise.<p>

Blinking open her eyes, she too slowly sat up, wincing as the wound on her leg throbbed. By now though, the blood had clotted and stopped flowing, though she didn't doubt that the wound would open again if aggravated. Yamamoto meanwhile checked his own wounds. The injury on his side in line with his stomach was in the same condition as Erza's, but what really worried him was his left hand, where the nerve had been hit.

Reaching over, he pinched the skin, wincing as he did so, but breathed a sigh of relief that he could still feel it. However, the most he could do with it was move the wrist or give a slight twitch in his fingers, so it was still pretty useless. However, he at least knew that it would be able to heal over time. Glancing over at Milo, he couldn't but feel quite a bit relieved when he saw that he was still unconscious.

However, the thing that really caught his attention was the gaping hole in the far wall, revealing a small room before it seemed to branch into a hall. The way the hole was made, it almost looked like a bomb or explosion of some sort blasted it in….

Yamamoto's eyes widened at that. A bomb or explosion…. Gokudera? Unless someone in Blood Moon used explosives as well, but if they did, he highly doubted that they would have left him and Erza alone.

Slowly, with slight wincing due to his side wound, he pulled himself to his feet and took an unsteady step forwards, determined to see if he couldn't find the silver haired bomber, however much Gokudera disliked him. As his foot was placed though, he suddenly jerked back when what almost looked a wall of wind sprung up. It formed a circle, trapping him, and he fell over as it also picked up under his feet and began moving upwards.

Through the wind he could just make out two other columns, or moreover what looked like spheres of wind, where the other occupants in the room had been. He blinked as his own prison began moving, what seemed to be upwards, towards the top of the room before his vision was filled with darkness, as he seemed to be passing through some kind of vertical tunnel. Within a few seconds though he was out, and apparently on the roof. The wind died out from underneath him, and he landed on the floor in a sitting position, though the weight of his upper body was being supported on his arms, much to his left hands discomfort.

Erza was soon dropped beside him, and she bit her lip to keep from wincing when her injured leg got jostled. Blinking, she looked around her, before freezing as she took in all the other people currently accompanying them. Yamamoto also did the same, but he felt a sense of dread creep through him, and had a bad feeling about why all of them would be brought together in one place.

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><p>Mukuro's eyes blinked open, staring up at the ceiling of the room where he had fought Toshiro. Beside him, he saw Chrome cleaning her trident of blood, and looked around for the man they had fought. He soon spotted him through the illusion that the violet haired girl had put up, and would have winced if he hadn't seen worse. He was almost confident that by now Toshiro was dead, or if he wasn't, was well on his way to it. However, he couldn't bring himself to feel any guilt or pity. After all, the man had been so willing to kill both him and Chrome.<p>

Chrome blinked as she sensed movement to her side, and she turned her head to see Mukuro's eyes open, with only a faint trace of tiredness left in them. Mukurou flitted down from where he had been flying to check on how his other master was doing. Opening her mouth to speak, her words were suddenly turned into a cry of alarm when wind started swirling around both her and Mukuro, Mukurou letting out an indignant squawk when Chrome reached out and grabbed him as he was getting pushed away.

Wind also swirled around the area where Toshiro lay, and as he was lifted, the illusions peeled away to reveal him. Chrome was then very thankful that the wind distorted her sight, as even through it, she could tell that his body was in bad shape, and wasn't even sure if he was alive anymore.

The wind lifted her and Mukuro as well, as they travelled to the top of the tall roof and through the spots they had fallen through. They caught a brief glimpse of the hall where they had been in before the battle started, now deserted, before walls blocked it again.

They were suddenly brought out into the outside though, and Chrome breathed in the fresh air gratefully, the air in the room from before having been tainted by stone, flames, and blood.

The wind dissipated soon after, and she landed lightly on her feet, Mukuro stumbling a bit beside her since he had just woken up. Blinking her wide violet eye, she saw that everyone else was at what seemed to be the roof. Blinking, she looked towards where two men stood, or rather floated, in the middle of everything. And they seemed to be looking expectantly towards an area. She shivered slightly, and knew in that instant that something was going to happen, and soon.

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><p>Natsu growled, and Tsuna merely smirked.<p>

"One minute to go~" he practically sang, though his face and eyes were still devoid of any emotion.

"One minute 'till what!" Natsu yelled in frustration, though he already knew what Tsuna would answer with.

"As already said before, I have no clue. But I'm sure it'll be interesting."

"Tsuna, what the hell happened to you? Why are you on their side!"

"Why wouldn't I be on their side? If you weren't blinded to how the light guilds actually act, then you would know why," Tsuna replied slowly, his dull eyes sending shivers down Natsu's spine as the brunette stared at him blankly. Without a moments notice though, he suddenly rushed at Natsu again, the latter turning just in time to avoid the attack. He grabbed Tsuna's arm, hoping to find a way to immobilize him, but before he could do anything else, a kick rammed into his stomach, and his grip loosened enough for Tsuna to slip out of it.

Natsu gritted his teeth as he quickly back stepped to avoid the punches from Tsuna, but soon he felt his back hit the wall. He ducked just as Tsuna's fist collided with the stone, and cracks spread through it, before the bricks split apart and crumbled in pieces. Natsu stared up at Tsuna, whose fist was still extended, before he brought it back in. He seemed about ready to attack again, when he suddenly blinked.

"Ah, 5 minutes have elapsed," he murmured to himself, before launching into the air and flying through the newly formed hole, which Natsu now realized led outside, the room he was currently in at the far end of the guild from the entrance it would seem.

"Natsu! We need to get to the others! If Tsuna attacks them as well after they've all been through battles already then…"

Natsu's eyes widened, and he cursed, picking himself up as some stone shifted off of him. Happy already had hold of him, and he quickly flew out of the hole after Tsuna, praying that the others would be okay.

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><p>Lucy blinked in shock as suddenly whirlwinds appeared from the roof, each one depositing allies and enemies alike. Within 10 seconds, the entire group minus Natsu, Happy, and Tsuna were gathered. Some looked like they could defend themselves, like herself, Mukuro, Chrome, Ryohei, Gray, and Gokudera, but others were worse for wear,<p>

like Yamamoto, Erza, and the Blood Moon members minus Eterna. Hibari and Wendy still looked rather exhausted, the older teen rather pale as well, but they could hold there own most likely. Carla seemed to be the only one unscathed. Suddenly a rumble erupted below them, and dust that looked suspiciously like it was from stone rose from the back of the guild.

Squinting her eyes, she caught a flash of dull orange that looked like a flame, before the person they had been trying to save this whole time burst out of the fumes, flames flaring proudly on his forehead and hands.

"Tsuna!" she and Wendy yelled at the same time, and the others all looked to where the brunette was floating, regarding them with… cold eyes? And were they grey? She was suddenly reminded of Eterna's eyes while she was fighting her. And instead of the pure bright orange flames he had always had, they were now dull, and sometimes black spots even flickered through them. Glancing over at Gokudera, she realized that something was definitely wrong with Tsuna, if his expression was anything to go by. He looked downright mortified. Whatever had happened to Tsuna, it wasn't a good thing.

The dust settled just as Natsu came flying out behind Tsuna with Happy, his eyes almost panicked.

"Something's wrong with Tsuna!" he yelled, just before the mentioned teen' eyes narrowed. He suddenly dropped, his fist raised, and with horror Lucy saw him aiming right at Yamamoto and Erza, the most injured out of the group.

"Dodge!" Lucy yelled, and the two sword wielders just managed to get out of the way in time before Tsuna's fist slammed down, cracking the ground where they had stood just a second before. Everyone stared in shock at the brunette, even Hibari and Mukuro, though it was a bit more hidden. Slowly, Tsuna stood up again, small stones and dust falling off of his gloved hand.

"T-Tsuna?" Yamamoto stuttered, but froze as the empty gray eyes fixed on him.

"Yamamoto Takeshi, the tenth generation rain guardian, and a sword wielder. Past encounters, relations, or attachments, none," Tsuna stated in a flat voice, and Yamamoto took a small step back.

The brunette's eyes scanned the group once, not a single sign of recognition flashing in his eyes.

"Those gathered here: Gokudera Hayato, storm guardian and expert bomber. Sasagawa Ryohei, sun guardian and boxer. Hibari Kyouya, cloud guardian and skilled hand-to-hand combater. Dokuro Chrome and Rokudo Mukuro, mist guardians and high-powered illusionists. Lucy Hearfilia, Fairy Tail member and Celestial mage. Gray Fullbuster, Fairy Tail member and a skilled ice mage. Erza Scarlet, one of the strongest and most skilled mages who uses Requip. Past interactions with any of them, none that are known. Emotional ties with any of them, none."

By the time Tsuna had finished, no one could speak due to shock. Finally, Gokudera opened his mouth to say something, but soon found himself putting up a shield as Tsuna's fist rammed into it, a few inches from his face.

"J-Juudaime?"

However, instead of responding, Tsuna spun around and caught a tonfa that had been on a collision course with his head. He aimed a kick at Hibari, but the prefect swiftly blocked it with his other tonfa before the two broke apart for a moment. Within a moment, they were suddenly clashing with each other.

The two stood on equal ground, exchanging blows so fast that those who didn't have a lot of experience in combat wouldn't even be able to follow the movements. Eventually though, it was obvious that the previous battle against Aria had taken it's toll on the prefect, as Tsuna began taking the upper hand. The prefect took a painful hit to his chin, making him stagger back a bit, but before Tsuna could send another hit his way Lucy suddenly put herself between them.

"Don't get in my way," he emotionlessly commanded, but Lucy refused to move. Without a second's hesitation, Tsuna raised his fist again, but instead of hitting the blond haired mage, another hand caught it. Blinking in mild surprise, Tsuna looked over to where Natsu now had his hand firmly gripped, his bangs covering his eyes.

"Are you willing to fight me now, Dragneel-san?" Tsuna asked. Natsu raised his head, and glared right at Tsuna. His eyes were smoldering almost with anger, but grief could still be seen underneath it all.

"I don't know what happened to you Tsuna. I don't know why you can't remember us, why you us hate us, or why you're attacking us. But I do know one thing,"

Natsu's gaze seemed to sharpen then, and his own flames burst from the hand holding Tsuna's fist back, the two flames having their own private battle.

"If you hurt my friends, then I won't forgive you, or even if you attack your own. Somewhere you're still in there Tsuna, and I know you'd rather have someone stop you than injure your friends. So yes, I'm going to fight you," Natsu stated with determination, and Tsuna's eyes widened slightly in surprise, before narrowing again.

"I don't know what you're talking about, or why you make it sound like I was ever friends with any of you. But it doesn't really matter."

Tsuna lowered his fist and stepped back, Natsu doing the same. The others were still off at the sides like before, and Hibari as well as Lucy had both moved back, knowing that this wasn't their fight to interfere with. The two teens stared at each other, one gaze filled with resolve, regret, and slight anger, and the other with a blank, yet focused look.

Behind them Tarasu and Enrico exchanged pleased looks, both long forgotten after Tsuna's arrival, though neither really minded. After all, the whole point of having Tsuna here was to crush their resolve and trust in anything, to remove their will to fight. Because really, how can any one of them bring themselves to kill Tsuna, who had already impacted their lives enough that they would all go to such lengths to save them.

The only possible worry would be Makarov, but Tarasu and Enrico were going to take care of him personally.

Enrico glanced over at Tarasu as he yet again shifted his gaze over to where Aria lay, before both of them turned back to where Tsuna and Natsu stood, prepared to launch into battle any second. However, Tarasu missed the look that Enrico had, a glint appearing in his eyes as a smirk slid across his face, and thoughts only he and his ancestors knew about rang through his mind.

_Soon, it will be over. Vongola, Fairy Tail, the light guilds, all will be wiped clean. And after everything has been accomplished, then the last pawn will be removed from our path. Blood Moon._

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><p><strong>Another annoying request to fill out my poll. Yes, they are most likely rather stupid, but meh. I want to know your guy's opinions! And I now have the story ideas in mind posted at the bottom of my bio. ^^<strong>

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><p>AN: Sorry if the chapter is kind of short, but unless I wanted it to be super long, this was the most opportune spot to cut off, especially with the thoughts of Enrico. :3 Yeah, I fail at cliffy's. OTL Oh well, still 4808 words. Anyways, once again thank to all who reviewed. It brightens up my day and motivates me, as well as everyone who has favourited and/or alerted the story. ^^ Please keep reviewing, even if it's random gibberish, like these author notes. XD Anyways, until next chapter then, ciao!


	17. What is Truth and What is Lies?

A/N: I'm sorry about the slow update. I lost track of the time over the break, and also I was trying to get this chapter to come out well. Again, sorry. OTL

OBSERVER01: Things really are getting worse for them. ._. Still, its fun to write it. xD

TheCrazy CatWho LovesTo HugChairs: I'm sorry about that, but like I said before school was hectic, especially band, which was why the updates were so slow. ._.

flor03: I'm glad you enjoy the story. ^^ And I can't help but love Tsuna when he's all serious like. xD

Thanathos: Yeah, Enrico is definitely a jerk. As for the gloves, ring, Na-tsu, and the memories, the chapter will show everything planned with it. :3

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><p><strong>To those who haven't, fill out the poll if you can. owo<strong>

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><p>With a growl, both Natsu and Tsuna lunged at each other, fists blazing. Tsuna sent a kick towards Natsu's head, but his leg was caught with one of the mage's hands. Natsu raised a fist to punch Tsuna, but it was in turn blocked by the brunette's own hand. Glaring at each other as both were in standstill, Tsuna suddenly flipped around, bringing his other leg up to kick Natsu and he used the hold he had on the dragon slayer as well as the one he had on Tsuna as support. Without a hand being free, Natsu was forced to release his grip on Tsuna's leg as well as retract his other hand, just barely avoiding the kick in the head.<p>

Without a moment to lose, as soon as Tsuna's legs landed on the ground, he pushed down and rushed forwards, hitting Natsu's forearm with a punch as the hit was blocked from the intended target at the chest. The receiving person of the attack winced from the harsh impact, but didn't slow down. He launched his own kick towards Tsuna, landing solidly on the brunette's stomach. The younger teen went skidding back by three or four feet, though he managed to keep his balance.

Tsuna tentatively touched his slightly scorched stomach area, wincing. Luckily the clothes had taken the most of the damage, though the area had burnt away due to the fire on Natsu's fist. Suddenly his hyper intuition acted up though, as rolled to side just as Natsu crashed down on the spot, shattering the top layer of the floor.

"Wing slash of the fire dragon," he growled, as the flame trails from his fists died out. Narrowing his eyes, Tsuna dodged as Natsu attacked again. Turning around, he caught Natsu's arm just before he passed.

"Shit!" the mage swore, as Tsuna's hand tightened. The arm lifted along with Natsu, before he was slammed into the stone behind Tsuna. Before he could react, a low punch was aimed at the side of his head, throwing off his balance. Luckily, he was saved from another attack as Happy flew in and pulled him out of harms way, placing the pink-haired teen on the ground carefully as he regained his senses from the head blow.

Blinking, his vision came back in focus and he regained his balance in time to see Tsuna charging him again. He punched directly towards Tsuna's hand, and the two attacks, as well as flames, collided. The fire flared as it merged, and the two teens had to break apart again to avoid getting hit, Tsuna since the flames weren't his anymore and could possibly hurt him, and Natsu as he was uncertain if he could eat them, knowing he was unable to digest dying will flames.

Tsuna glared, before increasing his flame power and flying up in the air. Without needing a prompt, Happy was already pulling Natsu skywards to where Tsuna hovered. They met gazes for a moment, before dashing forwards again, slowly rising higher. Those standing on the ground could only flames seemingly ramming into each other before backing away and repeating, though they could still distinguish between the two.

Tsuna's flames were a murky orange-yellow colour, and often the trails of flames had streaks of black running through it, while Natsu's flames were a bright orange with red mixed in on the outer parts.

Back in the air, Natsu rammed into Tsuna again, however, said brunette only raised a hand to block the attack, though he did wince. Still, the dragon slayer had to wonder why he suddenly was fairing so well against the other, while he had been easily overpowered when they first met. The others couldn't help but wonder as well, and finally someone asked.

"Why is Natsu suddenly so much better as fighting Tsuna? When we first met, the battle with him was over within a couple of minutes, and that was with Tsuna being reluctant about the whole thing. But right now, even though he's serious, Natsu is fairing so well," Lucy questioned, a confused look marring her face. Beside her, Gokudera scowled, a dark look in his eyes.

"It's because of his flames," he said, and the Fairy Tail members looked over at him confusedly, while the guardians just continued to watch, already having figured it out – well, not including Ryohei.

"The first time you saw him, they were a bright, pure orange, right?" he asked, and in reply, the others nodded.

"It was also like that before this whole thing started, on the job," Erza added, who was settled on the ground beside them as her leg wound was still bothering her.

"That was what pure sky flames looked like. The purer they are, the stronger they'll be. However, if you look at them now, they're dark and murky, nowhere near the colour they should be, showing that his flames are tainted. What's new though is the black. I've never seen anything like that, though I get the feeling that it's to do with more than just impure flames," Gokudera explained, and the others looked worriedly upwards.

"So because his flames aren't as pure, he's weaker as well as slower?" Gray summarized, and the silver haired teen nodded in reply.

"Yeah. Though, I just hope nothing has happened to Na-tsu, his sky lion. If he's also like Juudaime, then Natsu is in trouble. Half of Juudaime's moves, or at least the most powerful ones, rely on that lion. However, if he isn't tainted, then we won't have to worry to much, though X Burner will still be possible."

Natsu scowled, his extremely strong hearing having picked up on Gokudera's explanation. Right now though, he was just happy that Tsuna's flames were tainted, not even wanting to think about what would happen if they weren't.

"Oi, you might want to keep paying attention," Tsuna said, and Natsu's eyes widened as he realized the brunette was right behind him. Throwing himself around, he managed to get Happy out of harms way but was met with an elbow rammed neck, causing him to temporarily choke. A knee also struck upwards into his stomach, forcing out the oxygen, and he struggled to regain it after the throat hit.

"Hmph," Tsuna snorted, and was about to punch Natsu in the face when Happy moved him within a second. Blinking in surprise, Tsuna glanced over at the cat to see his wings now glowing a translucent, light blue.

"Max speed," Happy said, grinning, and Natsu now had gotten his breath back, the pause giving him enough time to do so.

"Good job, Happy," Natsu praised, before turning serious and looking back over at Tsuna, who, unfortunately, seemed to still hold an advantage over him. Tsuna looks mildly impressed, but didn't have time to really think about it before Natsu is engaging him in combat again.

"Can you really not remember who you are?" the pink-haired mage snarled, and Tsuna only looked at him blankly, blocking another hit.

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, what else is there to know?"

"That you're Vongola Decimo! How could you possibly forget that! Isn't it engraved on your gloves, or your ring?" Natsu yelled, earning himself a glare from Tsuna as they momentarily broke apart. Tsuna raised his right glove, palm facing himself, and showing Natsu the back.

"As you can see, there is no such thing," he growled, and Natsu's eyes widened in shock. Instead of the writing he had remembered seeing on it, the engravings that said 'Vongola Famiglia' on the X were now replaced with 'Blood Moon'. The blue crystal in the center that had held the Vongola insignia was now pitch black with Blood Moon's guild symbol pictured in red. Eyes widening even further, his eyes traveled up to where Tsuna had gotten the Fairy Tail stamp, only to discover that it, too, was replaced with Blood Moon's symbol.

By now, the duo had made their way close to the ground, and Tsuna was facing the same direction as everyone else, so they too saw the change. The Vongola ring seemed to have been reluctant to change however, and now what looked almost like black tendrils covered the blue jewel and words, hiding all proof of Tsuna being Decimo.

"N-no way! The Vongola Gear was…!" Yamamoto yelled, shocked.

"How can that be? T-that's impossible!" Gokudera stuttered, disbelief evident. How could the Vongola Gear become like that?

"So as you can see, I am not the Vongola's Decimo, like you all seem so certain of," Tsuna finally spoke, before retreating his hand again. He lunged at Natsu, but Happy, with max speed, was able to dodge, flying upwards twenty feet within a few seconds, Tsuna following. They began their spar again, as Tsuna launched a punch towards Natsu's side. Natsu managed to block again, but what he didn't notice was the leg rushing in to hit his other side though. However, suddenly Tsuna's ring lit up, and a light burst out of the dark bindings before they formed overtop of it again. Tsuna froze in surprise, as in front of him a small lion cub now stood on Natsu's shoulders.

Natsu looked over in shock at the small animal, but unlike Tsuna's equipment, the Vongola insignia was still emblazoned on his helmet proudly.

"Gao~!" he roared angrily, glaring at Tsuna, who rose an eyebrow.

"Hmm, what's this? A Vongola pet?" Tsuna questioned, and Na-tsu looked hurt for a moment that his master had forgotten him, before glaring. He seemed to give an encouraging nudge to Natsu, before shocking almost everyone as he jumped off of the fire mage's shoulder. Running forwards, Gokudera managed to catch Na-tsu, but the lion didn't pay much attention to the bomber. The silver haired teen realized that the cub refused to fight with Tsuna against Natsu and his friends, but also he couldn't fight against Tsuna. It was probably unbearable being covered by those shadows in the ring, so it made sense that the little lion cub would escape if it could.

Unfazed, Tsuna merely blinked in mild surprise, before resuming his fight with Natsu. Launching kicks and punches at the dragon slayer, Natsu had little choice but to go on the defensive, though he could feel his limbs becoming more and more sluggish with each hit they took. He winced as the toe of Tsuna's foot rammed into the side of his calf, and he felt it go slightly numb, pain flaring up when he tried to move it.

Another punch was aimed at him, but Natsu managed to dodge to the side, grabbing Tsuna's wrist before he can retract it again. Scowling a bit, Tsuna aimed a precise kick to Natsu's stomach, but soon he was forced to stop. Natsu was swinging Tsuna around in a circle, completely disorienting him and forcing all attacks to cease. Suddenly he let go, sending Tsuna flying a few feet before he stopped himself with a blast of sky flames. However, his head was still spinning, and before he realized it Natsu was right above him with an attack ready.

"Fire dragon's… iron fist!" he yelled, the flames on his hands increasing. Snapping his hand forwards, it connected solidly with Tsuna's face, sending him hurtling to the ground. The impact as he hit the stone caused it to shatter in the surrounding area, leaving a large crater around him. The brunette groaned, his entire body ached from the hit, and his head was swimming from Natsu's punch.

A few meters away from him, Happy returned Natsu to the ground. His eyes narrowing, he knew that now was his chance, even if he was reluctant. Still, Tsuna was far more powerful than him, so he couldn't hesitate. Taking a large breath, his cheeks as well as stomach began to expand, as if something was accumulating in them.

"Roar of the fire dragon!" he yelled as he creates what resembled a tube almost as he put his hands in front of each other while bringing them to his mouth. Exhaling, Tsuna, who by now was able to at least focus his eyes, saw a large stream of flames coming towards him. He closed his eyes, waiting for the hit but instead all he heard was a pained yell.

Eyes shooting open again, he saw Gokudera Hayato, the storm guardian, standing a couple of feet away from him, as he took attack, two bone shields on either side of him blocking out the rest flames. Natsu's eyes widened as he saw Gokudera standing in front of Tsuna, and he immediately cut off the attack, cursing.

However, he soon spotted Tsuna slowly sitting up behind the bomber, and rushing forwards he jumped over where Gokudera stood, fists blazing with one held back. He launched it forwards, but instead of connecting with Tsuna, it hit a piece of metal roughly a decimeter or two away from the brunette. Looking over, Natsu was shocked to see Yamamoto blocking him with his sword, his other hand still hanging loosely at his side. The mage could see cold sweat running down Yamamoto's brow from the exertion of blocking him while in his injured state, and Natsu backed off by a couple meters. Gokudera, though burnt with parts of his clothes and hair still smoldering, immediately limped over so he stood in between Natsu and Tsuna, and beside Yamamoto who had relaxed slightly.

"You guys…" Natsu muttered, confused as to why they were protecting Tsuna while he was like this. However, before he could say anything else, Ryohei was soon standing among them. Chrome hesitated for a moment, before also heading over to the group, standing with her trident tightly gripped. With a sigh, and an abnormally soft smile, Mukuro walked over and stood beside Chrome, his earing lighting up as he summoned his staff. What surprised everyone though was when even Hibari walked over and stood with the others – even if he was still slightly apart from them – with his tonfas drawn.

Tsuna stared in shock, emotions showing now, as the guardians stood in front of him, not understanding why.

"Wh-what? You guys… why are you shielding me? I tried to kill you, was planning to still, and yet…?" Tsuna asked, bewildered.

"Juudaime, it's expected of us to protect you," Gokudera said, not turning around from where he stood. Beside him, Ryohei punched a fist outwards excitedly, almost like he was agreeing.

"I followed you because you were strong, Sawada! That's why I'll extremely help protect you."

"You saved my life when I was about to make a stupid mistake, Tsuna. I owe you."

"Bossu… you accepted me when the others wouldn't, when my own parents didn't. I'm grateful for that, so I'll help protect you."

"Kufufu, I'm mainly here to help my dear Chrome, but I also can't have the body I'm going to posses be injured or taken away, now can I?"

"Hn, you attract out strong herbivores that I can fight. Also, I look forwards to when you get strong enough to have a serious match with me."

"Juudaime, even if you can't remember us, we remember you and what you have done. We're your guardians, so no matter what, we'll protect you."

At this, they all turned slightly to face him, and Tsuna stared back.

"Haha, besides, it's what friends do, right, boss?" Yamamoto added, his usual grin on his face again.

Tsuna's eyes widened, and suddenly, he felt like there was something trying to push through to his conscious, though something was pressing it down. Almost like there was a crack in a barrier.

However, whatever was blocking the memories was unrelenting. Suddenly, Tsuna felt like someone had stabbed him in the head, as a shooting jolt of pain coursed through his head. He let out a scream at the intense pain, gripping his head with his hands, but the pain didn't go away, or lessen, and the dying will flame on his forehead flickered out.

"_All those no-good parts about Juudaime you were talking about… of course, I knew them. Even so, what about them? That doesn't make up more than one side of Juudaime. The tenth I think about, the Vongola tenth whom I respect greatly… That has nothing to do with him."_

Tsuna's eyes widened as the memory was recalled. Wait, memory? Was that a memory? Had he known Gokudera before? But, he didn't remember that at all. And who was the tenth Vongola boss he respected so much?

Enrico meanwhile was staring in shock at what was happening. Growling, he raised his hands, both beginning to glow as they checked over the magic suppressing Tsuna's memories. His eyes widened as he felt a crack in it, where memories were trying to escape. Quickly, he jumped off of the wind platform he had been standing on beside Tarasu, and landed behind Tsuna. The guardians immediately glared and moved to attack him, but Tarasu put up a wind dome around the two, making it impossible for the others to get through. Enrico placed his hands on Tsuna's head, and began repairing the brain washing.

Tsuna stared in confusion, panting due to the intense pain, as wind sprung up around him. He felt someone place their hands on his head behind him, and then… a scream ripped out of his throat as the pain doubled. Tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks, and all he could do was scream and hope for the pain to end.

Outside, the guardians were trying to break through the wind barrier, but halted as a blood curdling scream came from inside, loud even overtop of the raging winds.

"Juudaime/Tsuna/Sawada/Bossu!" Four voices chorused, and even Hibari and Mukuro were shocked at the sound. A few seconds later, the wind died down, revealing the man standing up, and Tsuna. The man had slightly long blond hair and brown eyes, and wore semi –formal pants and shoes, both black, as well as a black tie overtop of a white dress shirt. In front of him, Tsuna was currently on his knees, head titled to the side slightly, and his eyes completely blank, tears still running down his cheek.

"Bastard, who the hell are you, and what did you do to Tsuna!"

Everyone stared in shock at the one who yelled, as it was Yamamoto, all his usual calmness gone and a glare that even Hibari was impressed by set on his face.

"I was just redoing the magic I placed on your precious Decimo, as we can't have it come undone until he's killed you all. The plan wouldn't really work if that happened. And as for who I am, that is of no importance. Though, if you must know, my name is Enrico Shalet, the twelfth boss of the Serato famiglia."

A look of recognition crossed Gokudera's face, before he glared even harder at Enrico.

"The Serato Famiglia! You used to be one of the strongest mafia groups until Vongola came and overthrew your operations, as you guys dealt with prostitutes, drugs, alcohol, and illegal imports, including the occasional slave trading. You've been trying to destroy the Vongola ever since, as we destroyed most of your business after our power increase, though all the attacks have failed so far."

"Hmph, so you've done your homework I see. Though you make us sound so terrible. Ah well, I won't deny it anyways. But, right now you should be more concerned about Tsuna," he responded, before jumping back onto the wind platform with Tarasu.

Blinking the guardians looked over to where Tsuna was getting up, bangs shielding his eyes slightly. He stumbled a bit before regaining his footing, and raised his head. Almost unconsciously it seemed, tears were still streaming down his face, leaving behind clean trails in his face that was covered by dirt. His eyes were half lidded like they usually were in his hyper dying will mode, but they just looked tired now. His eyes had turned into a pitch black colour, no longer the gray as before, and not a single flash of emotion was on his face, other than eternal pain that his eyes reflected.

The flame that had gone out returned again, but it was smaller, like he had lost almost all resolve to do anything. The flame was even darker now, and black was present throughout the whole thing, never going away once.

Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail members had been watching with wide eyes. Wendy had her own tears from seeing her friend in so much pain, as did Happy, Lucy, and surprisingly even Carla. Natsu, Gray, and Erza stood staring in shock, but upon seeing Tsuna get ready to fight again, Natsu stepped forwards, though the reluctance at fighting him was shown perfectly well on his face.

"Tsuna…"

As if that name was a trigger, Tsuna dashed forwards, punching straight at Natsu, who blocked it, shocked at the fact that Tsuna was still so strong. However, it seemed that he was now on, if not a little bit lower than Natsu's speed level, and Natsu knew that this would be his chance. They broke into a spar again; the hits matched each time, and neither pulled forwards in the fight.

The guardians were too shocked to do anything at this point. Chrome fell to her knees, shaken after hearing Tsuna's scream and now his expression. Mukuro crouched down and wrapped his arms around her in comfort, being the least effected out of all of them as he was used to hearing screams and seeing worse from when he was an experiment with others.

Ryohei, Gokudera, and Yamamoto could only stand and stare, not sure what to do anymore. They had never seen this happen to Tsuna, no matter how much pain he had been through. It all paled in comparison to what they were sure he was feeling, if the tears and expression were anything to go off of. Hibari also watched Tsuna's movements, though he scowled slightly at how slow Tsuna had become, obviously the brain washing affecting his abilities to fight, or even use his flames properly anymore.

"Tsuna, would you just snap the hell out of it already! I can't keep fighting you like this!" Natsu yelled, an enraged but pained look set on his face. Tsuna only blinked however, not replying as he punched Natsu again, who blocked again.

"What do we need to do to make you wake up! What will it take to remember Tsuna! Has everything really gone!"

Tsuna halted as Natsu continued to yell at him, a look of confusion crossing his face now.

"Re…mem…ber?" he questioned slowly. Natsu's eyes widened as he realized that Tsuna probably had his memories completely wiped clean, only knowing to fight them. The brunette meanwhile felt a small twinge at those words. Remember? Had he forgotten something? Was there anything to forget in the first place? Blinking, he stared at person in front of him.

"Ne… can you tell me… why are we fighting? Did you do something… did I do something?" Tsuna asked. He couldn't remember anything other than that he was supposed to fight with them. But why? He winced slightly as a scratch on his neck suddenly stung. Reaching up his gloved hand, he wiped at the spot to see it wet, but not with blood. He also wiped at his eyes slightly, and saw that they too were wet. Was he crying then? But, why?

He felt frustration grow in him. What had happened? Why couldn't he remember anything? Why was he fighting? He wanted to know what had happened. His eyes travelled over to two people floating though as one of them snapped their fingers, and his eyes widened as suddenly everything flooded back. Why he was fighting these people, what they had done, who they were, everything. His eyes returned to their grey ones again as his flame sparked to life, the black removing itself mainly as the flames lightened by a few shades.

"Sorry about that Tsuna! But we had to erase everything for a while so that the blocks could repair," Enrico called out, and Tsuna blinked in confusion as to what he meant, but shook it off. He waited as his slightly watery vision cleared since the tears stopped, and he focused on Natsu again, getting ready to fight. However, before he could, his ring flashed again. Ignoring the glaring brightness, he brought it up in front of him, and watched as the black tendrils began to fade away. His eyes widened though when he saw the words 'Vongola Famiglia' emblazoned proudly on the back, and as the light grew brighter, he was forced to close his eyes.

He opened them again a few seconds later, and was shocked to see someone floating in front of him. Blond spiky hair, calm sunset orange eyes, a black cloak overtop of a pinstripe suit, and also the I-gloves adorned, lit up with sky flames as well as the one on his forehead.

"Vongola Primo…" Tsuna stated, surprised, recognizing the man from the profile he had in his head.

"Decimo, it seems a lot has happened while I've been blocked, mainly to you."

"Decimo? What is wrong with all of you and thinking that I'm the boos of Vongola!"

"What is wrong with you and not thinking so? Tell me, who is the current tenth generation boss?"

At that, Tsuna frowned.

"I don't know. I only know of their guardians, the people who would pledge undying loyalty to…" Tsuna trailed off, as the words left his mouth. Those that would pledge their loyalty to him… Hadn't the guardians been saying they would protect him? But if that was true, then he would have to be Decimo, like they said. But no, how could he not remember that? Where they lying perhaps, or was it the truth?

"I'm not sure exactly what has been used to brainwash you Decimo, but I do know that it is not perfect; at least, not against someone with your will."

Tsuna's eyes widened as the memory of Gokudera pledging his loyalty came back to him. Was it he who he was talking about? What the others had said, had that all been aimed at the tenth Vongola boss, him?

"B-but, how can I lead an organization that terrible? One that kills so easily?" he stammered out, shocked at all of this. He felt a power trying to force down all of his thoughts, the emotions he was feeling right now, but pushed it back, refusing to give in. Surprisingly enough, Primo laughed, a smile on his face.

"You have forgotten the promise you made while in the future, haven't you."

It was more of a statement than a question, and Giotto raised his hand before placing it lightly on Tsuna's forehead. Instead of pain though, he only felt warmth, as the memory flashed before his eyes. Of what they had shown him, of getting the inheritance from the previous bosses, but mainly, what he had shouted at them.

"_I thought I could do anything, if it meant I could protect everyone… But… this… I don't need… this kind of power! If you want me to inherit such mistakes… then, I… I will wipe out the Vongola!"_

Tsuna's eyes widened as he recalled that, when he stated the true feelings.

"When we met you Tsuna, you said that it was true that the Vongola had a bloody history. However, you also said that you would change the Vongola back to its original form, its original purpose."

Tsuna looked up at where Natsu stood, before the fire mage gave him a grin.

"I trust that you will, so hurry and wake up Tsuna, so we can beat up these guy's asses," he said, grinning, and Tsuna's eyes widened.

"Remember the trials you have gone through Decimo, but most importantly, remember your friends. If your bond with them is true, then no amount of mind control will stop you from recalling them," Vongola Primo finished, smile still placed on his lips, and Tsuna felt the crack in the barrier again, but this time, it was over the whole thing.

He felt the pain come rushing back as again the magic tried to supress everything, but Tsuna refused to let it do so again. His memories started to came back, and slowly, more of the barrier was getting chipped away, letting out the memories faster and resulting in the magic breaking quicker as well.

Grinding his teeth, Tsuna refused to yell even once. Vaguely, he sensed people surrounding him again, no doubt keeping whoever had the brain washing magic away from him while the memories were still being recovered. He remembered everything about his guardians, the Kokuyo fight, the ring battle, the future, Byakuran, the Shimon family, and meeting everyone in Fairy Tail. With a gasp, he feels the barrier completely shatter as the last memory comes out. Blinking, he looks up to where everyone stood around him. Seeing that the magic finally broke, they move away from him until they stood in front of Tsuna, smiles on their faces, though admittedly, Mukuro and Hibari only had small smirks that could have meant anything.

"Welcome back, Tsuna," Lucy said, and Tsuna smiled.

"I'm back," he replied, before his dying will flame flared up, now twice as strong as before. All traces of black had been removed, and the light it shed was again pure orange, and instead of dull grey eyes, they were now the cool sunset colour again. Standing up, he waved off Gokudera and Yamamoto who came over to try and help him. He looked at his gloves, as the images and words shifted around to once again show his Vongola heritage, and with a flash of light, his Fairy Tail symbol returned. He looked over to where Giotto still stood, before they exchanged smiles. Knowing that Tsuna had awakened now, Primo closed his eyes, and breathed out as his body shifted into that of a dying will flame before returning to the Vongola ring.

Tsuna blinked as he suddenly he felt a weight land on his shoulder, and looking over, he was greeted with a few licks from Na-tsu, who was overjoyed that Tsuna was back to normal.

The brunette narrowed his eyes though and turned to look at Tarasu and Enrico, who were both frowning, though it was obvious that Enrico wasn't nearly as concerned about this as Tarasu. Without turning around, Tsuna spoke.

"Natsu, I think we have two more people that need cleaning up."

The fire mage blinked in surprise for a moment, before his grin returned to his face as he walked forwards and stood beside Tsuna.

"Everyone, I suggest you stay back. The fights you participated in will have taken their toll, so right about now Natsu is in the best condition," Tsuna called over his shoulder, and though reluctant, they all agreed, though Hibari looked anything but happy about it.

Beside Tsuna, Natsu raised a fist as it was soon covered in flames, and his eyes burned brighter than they had since Tsuna had been taken.

"I'm all fired up."

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><p>AN: And finally Tsuna snaps out of it. I hope this chapter turned out well. I wasn't sure if it seemed repetitive and boring, or rushed, or anything like that. A total word count of 5732. ^^ Thank you to all who reviewed! It really brightens up my day, as well as all the alerts and favourites. Please keep reviewing. I always want to know what the reader's opinions are. My friends probably know this more than anyone as I'm always asking what they think about the stories I write at school. xD Next chapter they finally get to fight Tarasu and Enrico, so I'll be looking forwards to that. Until then, ciao!

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><p><strong>Fill out the poll if you have time, not that it takes a while anyways!<strong>

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><p>A small omake, of what everyone was thinking during the fight against Natsu and Tsuna. Though it's not really that serious.<p>

Lucy stared up worriedly, watching the two battle it out. _'Please be okay, Natsu, Tsuna. We want both of you in one piece.'_

Gray scowled slightly, but still watched concerned. _'Flame Brain, I swear, if you injure Tsuna too badly, you are in for a world of hurt. Also if you die, I'll be dragging you back from the dead for dying on us.'_

Looking up, Erza frowned. _'Tsuna's flames are pretty impure huh? Hm, I just hope it's enough to let Natsu win against Tsuna.'_

Gokudera scowled, as he glared at a certain dragon slayer. _'If he so much as scratches Juudaime, I'll kill him. Even if Juudaime is on the opposite side now and is trying to kill us.'_

Yamamoto stared, not sure what to think. _'This is pretty interesting. The mafia game has been joined with a magic one. Haha, Tsuna's amazing to be able to organize something like this with so many players!'_

Ryohei blinked. _'I am EXTREMELY confused as to what is happening!'_

Hibari smirked slightly. _'Hn, if he wasn't weaker like this, then I would want a match against the herbivore. Maybe I should ask the baby to do a personality change on him…'_

Mukuro let out a creepy, "Kufufufu" like always. _'Sawada Tsunayoshi, you truly amuse me, especially like this. It would be entertaining if this was your usual personality.'_

Chrome gripped her trident tightly, watching with a worried eye. _'Bossu, please don't keep this personality after this is over. Mukuro is planning weird things because of it…'_


	18. Sky Flames and Fire Dragons Combine

A/N: I'm deeply sorry for the long wait. Besides Easter taking up my time, my brother has apparently decided to start playing Minecraft again, taking up over half the day most of the time, and greatly cutting down time to write. OTL And happy (late) Easter, everyone!

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><p>TheCrazy CatWho LovesTo HugChairs: I have to apologize now then, because I don't think I'll be able to manage that. Band, school, and harp take up a lot of my time, plus half the time the rest of my family is using the computer, as three of us share just the one laptop, so, yeah. OTL<p>

HoshinaYuki: It would be amazing if that did happen. Maybe I should make a random extra chapter with that. xD

OBSERVER01: Yes, 6 or 7 chapters later, he finally does. OTL And read the chapter to find out. :3 I'm glad you enjoyed the omake, I wasn't to sure about it, and it was kind of just a random add on too, done in a few minutes. ._.

icefox94: Good to know the omake was well done. I think Mukuro and Chrome's bit had to be my favourite part, the others, not so much. ^^' And of course I included Na-tsu! I love him. *glomps imaginary Na-tsu* Giotto has always been one of my favourite characters as well. I always find myself fangirling over him too. xD Hmm, I'll see if I can work adult Reborn in later on through the story. That would be amusing. Not so much for Tsuna of course. -w- I kind of felt bad for the whole screaming thing, yet I enjoyed writing it as well. I worry for my brain sometimes… I didn't notice the whole hiragana thing at all, though I did notice that you make Natsu's name from Tsuna, one of the reasons I always thought it was Natsu as well. :3 And now I'm rambling… Yeah, leaving now…

kinglugia: I kind of feel bad for them as well, but, meh. They deserve it well enough.

A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Ah, it's fine! I hope the musical will turn out great! I've always loved musicals, especially CATS and Rent. -w-  
>15: I apologize if he is annoying, but there's not much I can do when he's brainwashed. (What do you mean there's not much you can do? You're the autho- *is whacked*) Shut up common sense.<br>16: I'm rather scared of the idea, yet I can't help but make jokes and sarcastic remarks using it. Sometimes I wonder how my brain manages to function normally. ._. Or actually, it doesn't. Yeah, never mind.  
>17: I'm glad it was descriptive enough to visualize. I find that listening to fitting music always helps my writing. :3 And yes, we can finally have a normal Tsuna back! *pumps fist*<br>I find all reviews good personally, even random gibberish ones. xD Good luck with reading the novels! Wait, do you need luck to read…? Anyways, as long as you keep reading, I'm happy. ^^ And am I the only one epically fangirling over the last chapter? owo

Yuuseki no Yume: *blinks* Ahh. And I always thought that Natsu was right. ^^' Well, I personally prefer Natsu, so I'll probably keep using it. I always thought of Nuts as being an odd name, unless it was for a squirrel or something. *awkward laughter* Anyways, it's still nice to know, though that almost makes it seem like when they say Natsu in Fairy Tail they're calling him Nuts. xD *random thought that no one else would probably ever think of, due to its sheer stupidity* Yeah… Anyways, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

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><p>And I found out that apparently, Enrico is actually a name in KHR. He was one of the candidates for Decimo that got killed, mentioned for like, one panelscene in chapter/episode 1. ._. How I managed to get the same name, I don't even…

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><p>The wind platform that Enrico currently occupied shifted to the side, before disappearing just as it reached the area where the Blood Moon members were, most waking up by now, though one was probably dead. Tarasu meanwhile smirked, as he looked down at the two; he was eager for battle, even if his original plan didn't work out.<p>

"Well now, seems that I have to do everything myself, hm?" he asked, amusement glittering in his eyes. Holding up a hand, his own set of flames flared up, the same colour, shade, and shape as Tsuna's. The brunette narrowed his eyes then, glaring slightly.

"That's something I've been wondering about. How are you and your other members using the dying will flames? It doesn't seem that this world has them."

"Ah, that would be thanks to Enrico's famiglia's scientist. They developed a machine that allows us to use the dying will flames. Before he came here, his scientists also used a machine on him to give him the use of magic, as you've experienced first hand," he explained, grinning, and Tsuna's head throbbed a little at the memory of the painful experience.

"Anyways, all that aside, I think it's about time we start our battle, don't you? The rest of your guild has already finished by now."

Blinking, Natsu and Tsuna realized that indeed, there were no more spell incantations or battle calls, and they instead heard what sounded like the end of a victory cheer.

"Actually, why don't we give them a little show of this," he suddenly added grinning, and his eyes shifted over to where his strongest members lay. The others also turned to look at them. Almost all where awake again, the only ones still knocked out being Aria, and Toshiro, though most doubted he would be waking up again.

"Cynthia!"

The small framed, auburn haired girl glanced up at the voice, before grinning.

"Yeah, Master Tarasu?"

"It's about time to show Fairy Tail what's happening, isn't it?" he asked, an identical, almost feral grin on his face. Cynthia's eyes seemed to almost light up, and she raised a hand, mist flames gathering around it. A device identical, though larger, to the one that Tarasu had used to observe the battles around his guild formed, as well as a few sets of boxes, which they assumed would be used to make an image feed.

The boxes, four in total, immediately flew high into the air, in a square shape, before lightning up slightly. The hologram display meanwhile had fixed itself into the side of the roof, and a white rectangle was projected into the air, before changing to show a perfect image of Tsuna, Natsu, Tarasu, and the others on the roof. They heard the sounds die down as it did so, but not a second later, a blade of wind tore in-between the two people designated to fight, slightly slicing their clothes as they barely managed to dodge. Glaring, they looked over at Tarasu, who still had that stupid grin plastered on his face.

"Might want to pay attention, dragon slayer, Vongola Tenth. Don't want this to end to soon," he taunted, and without a seconds hesitation, the three charged towards each other, ready for the, hopefully, final battle.

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><p>Levy cheered along with the rest of the guild as the last Blood Moon member fell. Though they weren't exactly a strong guild, they definitely had numbers, making the battle drag out longer than expected. The battle had ended a few minutes ago, so the cheering was nearing it's end, and a quick glance around showed almost all the Fairy Tail members with very minor wounds.<p>

However, soon something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning, she saw a large white rectangle floating in the middle of the space between them and the guild, though it was still rather high up.

"Master, what is that?" she asked, pointing to the odd hologram. Makarov blinked as he too examined it, confusion set in his face. The last few cheers and chatter died out as attention was brought to the odd thing, before shapes were formed on it and colour added.

Within a few seconds, the once blank screen was showing some very familiar, and not so familiar, people, all standing on the roof. Her eyes widened along with the others as they saw the state everyone was in, even Erza. Cuts, wounds, and bruises marred their skin, and some were even burned. They all looked exhausted – well, maybe not Ryohei… - but alertness still shone in their eyes.

Another group was also off to the side, all looking worse for wear, and two of them were unconscious, though a man that was perfectly unscathed stood beside them. In the center of the roof though, stood Natsu, and surprisingly enough, Tsuna, both looking off to the side in shock, and Levy realized that it was the direction the weird hologram thing was.

What was the weirdest thing though had to be Tsuna. Instead of the warm chocolate brown eyes they had all grown used to, he now sported half lidded ones the colour of a sunset. On his shoulder stood what looked like a lion cub, and on his hands fire burned around red gloves, or perhaps they were gauntlets. It was uncanny how much he almost looked like Natsu, who also had fire burning from his fists, though he was grinning, apparently eager for battle, like always.

Another man was also in the center of the roof, and without warning, launched what looked like blade almost of wind at the two, cutting their clothes as Tsuna and Natsu barely dodged.

"Might want to pay attention, dragon slayer, Vongola Tenth. Don't want to end this too soon."

The cold voice rang out easily among the space, before the three all charged. The rest of Fairy Tail could only stare, wide eyed, as the high speed battle began among all of them, and the view was adjusted so the top half of the screen showed the three of them, and the bottom half was split into thirds, each following the movements of one of the males.

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><p>Tsuna darted forwards, fist raised and ready to collide with Tarasu's face, Natsu beside him mirroring the movement. They both snapped their hands forwards as soon as they were in range, but instead of hitting Tarasu, their attacks were blocked by what seemed like a wall made out of air. Before they could withdraw again, an elbow was rammed into the side of Natsu's head, while a knee abruptly met with Tsuna's stomach, both attacks sped up by wind to double the damage.<p>

Natsu stumbled a bit due to dizziness following the hit, and Tsuna coughed, as the pain from the hit didn't go away, instead staying and making his torso throb. They both managed to avoid another hit from Tarasu, but stumbled slightly. Glaring at him defiantly, they both got ready to attack again.

"Na-tsu, Cambio Forma!" Tsuna commanded, and Natsu glowed as he once again attached himself to the X-Gloves: Version Vongola Gear. He extended one arm, bracing it with the other, as power quickly built up. Beside him, Natsu was readying his own attack, his stomach and cheeks expanding again as he collected his flame magic.

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"

"X-Cannon!"

A stream of fire came from Natsu, while Tsuna launched two large sky flame fireballs towards Tarasu. The attacks collided with him, resulting in a large of amount of smoke and debris to go flying. Coughing lightly, Tsuna squinted his eyes as the smoke cleared away. He was shocked though to see a wall of sky flames dispersing, and Tarasu standing there perfectly unscathed.

"You'll have to do better than that," he announced, before raising his palm, a silvery white magic circle forming around it. Natsu and Tsuna's eyes widened as shock as suddenly they were gasping for breath, the largest ones they took only barely managing to absorb any oxygen. Before they could react, Tarasu was in front of them again, and with a sharp kick or punch to them, sent them flying a few feet, still fighting for breath.

"W…what… the hell… is this…" Natsu managed to gasp out, the oxygen as thin as if he was at the top of a mountain. Tarasu laughed, before calmly striding towards them as they just managed to get to their feet.

"That would be my magic. It manipulates the air surrounding me as well as wind. Of course, I can't completely remove oxygen, but it's enough. I can also increase the Co2 levels, high enough not to really kill someone, but they'll still faint if they breath in to much," he smirked, and the two teens eyes widened at that. Though he might not be able to kill them solely with that magic, the power was still insane. Growling, Natsu launched another attack at Tarasu, but he was easily able to block the slowed down movements. Behind him, Tsuna sent his own attack, but had to dodge instead as wind came towards him, sharp enough that the lightest touch was shredding his already blood stained and cut up clothes. Blasting a short burst of flames at it, he managed to disturb it enough to get it to dispel, but another quickly replaced the previous one.

Meanwhile Natsu himself was attacking Tarasu, but it was child's play for the older male. Suddenly he launched a kick into Natsu's side, sending him back a few feet again. He collided into Tsuna, who managed to catch him and keep both of them on their feet.

However, the wind sickles that the brunette had been fending off were still present, and not having enough time to dispel it again, he instead quickly placed himself in front of it, taking the attack instead of Natsu. He gritted his teeth as it cut into his left chest, refusing to make a sound, and thankfully it soon passed after hitting him. He coughed, a bit of blood coming up into his mouth, but otherwise, didn't show any signs of being injured.

"Tsuna!" Natsu yelled out, worried.

"I'm fine," Tsuna quickly responded, spitting out the blood in is mouth before staggering up onto his feet again, ignoring the blood slowly seeping into his once white shirt from his school uniform, the navy blue vest already having been destroyed beyond repair and discarded.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Tarasu teased, before appearing in front of Tsuna before he could block, punching right onto the new wound.

"Gah!"

The pained sound escaped Tsuna's lips as the bleeding speed up slightly, and he couched some more, blood coming up again and running out the corner of his lips. He suddenly smirked though, as he managed to grab onto the wrist that was still extended towards him, increasing flame output and burning Tarasu's skin. The older male raised his other hand to punch Tsuna again, but before he could a foot was slammed into his chest, forcing him back, struggling to regain his breath again.

"Hmph, damn brats…" he muttered. However, he didn't notice that his magic had vanished, returning the oxygen levels to normal again.

"Just giving you what you deserve!" Natsu yelled as he charged forwards, his speed back to normal as he could breath properly again. Tsuna was beside him, ignoring the chest wound, also ready to attack. Tarasu, surprised that they had gained their speed back, was unable to block, and thus had two powerful, flame engulfed fists ram into his skull. He flew backwards a few feet, whilst the two continued approaching. When they were within a foot of them they prepared to attack again, however, a wind wall again stopped them.

It pushed them back with such force that they were sent sprawling onto the ground. Soon, a crushing weight was on their chest, causing them to gasp for air. However, what they breathed in didn't seem quite so pure, and it was belatedly that they realized the air was a Co2 concentrate.

Struggling, Natsu managed to get to his knees, though his muscles screamed in protest, especially since he was holding his breath, knowing better than to breath in too much, if the light-headedness was anything to go by. Beside him, Tsuna was also pushing himself upwards, but it was a lot harder for him, as his muscles weren't as strong and he didn't have enough energy to propel himself with his dying will flames, plus he too was holding his breath. Raising their heads, they saw that Tarasu was finally using his sky flames. However, despite this discovery, they didn't have enough time to dodge as the flames rushed towards them, much like how a fire mage's flames would.

Tsuna and Natsu gritted their teeth as the fire met them, shockingly even managing to burn Natsu, as the dying will flames were not edible by him. Raising his hands, Tsuna put them into the familiar shape of Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised. However, just as he began absorbing the flames, wind sickles cut through them as they died out suddenly. Tsuna's eyes widened, but without a chance to act, they collided with him and Natsu, cutting into their skin.

Not a second later, Tarasu was in front of them again, and with flame engulfed hands, much like Tsuna's or Natsu's, he dealt them each a powerful blow. Luckily it knocked them out of the high pressure, Co2 infested air, so they could breath normally again, but after the wind sickles and harsh blows to the head, getting up again would be no easy task.

"Is this really all you have, Tsuna, Natsu? Land one or two blows on me, while your sitting here bleeding, exhausted, and probably ready to pass out? You know, I expected more from you," Tarasu taunted, practically laughing in their faces. Walking over, he kicked Natsu in the stomach as the dragon slayer had been trying to get up, before continuing in a sneer. "Though I guess this is easier. I don't want to have to take out the others and your friends while I'm injured. You guys can just lay there and watch."

With that, he whirled around, but before he could even take a step, a hand gripped his leg. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Natsu had reached out, setting an iron grip on him. The fire mage slowly pushed himself to his knees, head still down.

"Don't… threaten my friends… There's no way I'll let a bastard like you kill them," he growled out, and just as finished, he pushed himself back to his feet, fist raised and ready to hit Tarasu. The man quickly jumped back, his eyes showing surprise. Natsu's flames had to be twice as big now, and he could feel the murderous aura radiating from the pink haired teen.

"Tsuna!" he suddenly yelled, and spinning around, Tarasu saw Tsuna ready to throw his foot into his stomach. Quickly reacting, he reached down a hand and caught the foot, gritting his teeth at the harsh impact. He then noticed that Tsuna, too, had doubled his flames growth, his resolve having increased to protect his friends. A punch from the brunette was sent towards him, and he ducked to avoid the hit, letting go of Tsuna's foot as he did so. Quickly, he shot out a leg and swung it around to try and hit his legs, but Tsuna almost seemed to expect that as he jumped back.

Sensing someone behind him, Tarasu rolled to the side just as streams of flames crashed into the ground he had just occupied. Getting to his feet, his eyes narrowed. Pressuring the surrounding air, they began to form into solid shapes that were a white colour. When they finished, the now solid wind had transformed to form into exact duplicates of Tsuna and Natsu.

The teen's eyes widened at that, and suddenly, they found themselves attacked by the opposite clone, Natsu against the Tsuna wind clone, and Tsuna against the Natsu one. The blows were exchanged deftly, the wind clones having incredibly high speed, especially since they could thin out the air around their limbs and create less resistance when needed.

Natsu managed to break away from the Tsuna clone, which came dashing after him. Igniting both hands with flames, he clapped them together just as the clone came within a few feet of him.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" he yelled, as the fire exploded around him, engulfing the wind. Tsuna, seeing this out of the corner of his eye, managed to grab the Natsu clone's hand, and flung him towards the attack, the fire immediately engulfing him. The flames died away soon after, showing that the fire had effectively dispelled the condensed wind.

The victory didn't last for long though, because soon wind sickles were attacking them again them again. However, this time they were infused with sky flames, and the speed was doubled. The two teens dodged them swiftly, trying to figure out the best way to get rid of them now that they had fire. If Tsuna tried to absorb the flames, then the wind within it could easily continue on to hit him. Either way, if they stopped one of the elements, then the other would just continue on to hit them, and Tsuna really didn't want to see if the sky flames could turn things they hit into stone.

Soon they found each other back-to-back, two attacks coming on either side of them. Without a moment's hesitation, Tsuna grabbed the back of Natsu's vest and propelled them upwards, causing the four flame infused wind gusts to collide with each other. Awkwardly he landed, not used to carrying someone else and flying with one hand at the same time, having only barely managed to keep them in the air for a few seconds.

However, they both knew better then to take to the air, as it would definitely give Tarasu an advantage with his wind control. Panting, they glared over at where Tarasu stood, smirking. Even though their flames had increased, it was obvious that he was still overpowering them. Natsu's magic levels were running low by now, and even Tsuna could feel the drain on his own flames, having used his hyper dying will mode consecutively for rather long periods of time. Tarasu seeming rather careful to not let Tsuna absorb his flames, apparently having known about his technique already. Currently, the man seemed content on just standing there, evidently waiting to see what their next move would be.

Frowning, Tsuna tried to think up a way to power themselves up. It was already known that Natsu couldn't consume dying will flames, so that wouldn't work, and the brunette doubted that it would be easy for himself to get flames from his guardians without Tarasu blocking them. Plus, they were already weak enough from overuse, so he didn't want to risk worsening their condition. However, he could create a regular fire with his flames so long as he didn't power them, but getting anything he lit to Natsu before Tarasu killed it with wind was also highly unlikely.

His thoughts suddenly turned to the battle against Natsu from when he had been brainwashed, and he felt a small smirk cross his face as he suddenly realized something, which he could only hope would work.

"Natsu, can you launch a stream of fire into the air?" he asked, and the addressed male gave him a thoroughly confused look.

"What? How is that going to help with anything?" he questioned incredulously, but all Tsuna did was smile.

"Jus trust me," he replied. Natsu frowned, but knew there was little they could do right now, so decided to go with whatever Tsuna's plan was.

"Roar of the fire dragon!" he yelled, and as requested, shot the flames upwards. Tsuna raised his arm, one braced with the other, as his own flames charged.

"X Cannon!" he yelled, and the two fireballs shot out again, colliding with Natsu's stream of fire. Instead of like before, where the flames had been fighting against each other, they began to merge, Natsu's fire mixing with the two fireballs from Tsuna. Cutting off the magic flow, Natsu watched as the two orange spheres had streaks of red running through them inside, before they finally finished morphing. The spheres were now a blood orange colour, and licks of red flames could be seen coming off of them occasionally.

"Tsuna, what was this supposed to do?" he asked, confused, as he turned to the brunette.

"You should be able to consume it now," was all he said, before shooting into the air where one of the fireballs hovered. He put his index fingers and thumbs together to form a square, and placed them upon the sphere. Suddenly, the flames were absorbed into the gloves, as Tsuna smirked.

He knew that of course he wouldn't be able to absorb his own flames, but if he could somehow make them not entirely his own, then he probably could, keeping in mind to still have dying will flames contained. Thus he came up with mixing the flames, as they would probably do now that he was fighting on the same side of Natsu. It went the same with Natsu. He couldn't consume his own flames, or dying will ones, but now that they were no longer being powered by either Tsuna or Natsu, they should be perfectly edible, as it was no longer his flame or a dying will flames.

Natsu's eyes widened slightly in realization, before he quickly launched himself into the air, right into the middle of the flames. He began quickly sucking them in as he fell back the ground, the flames being pulled after him, and within a few seconds, he had consumed all of them. He could feel his magic power return completely, and something else was there as well. Beside him Tsuna landed, his flames burning intensely and aggressively, having been powered up from he high level sky and magic flames.

Natsu activated his flames again, and was shocked that while in his right hand was the usual ones, a sky dying will flame burned in his left. Tsuna also flared up his own flames, and much like Natsu, had the other flame ignited on his hand, albeit his on the right hand. Both smirking, they turned back to Tarasu, who was now glaring at them, the whole process having taken 30 seconds.

"Time to fight seriously now, huh Natsu?" Tsuna suggested, and Natsu in turn, grinned.

"Now that I've eaten, I'm all fired up. Let's finish this."

With that the two launched forwards, both flames activated. Tarasu took a back step to avoid the attacks, the two's speed having been increased now that their power was back, with a bit of extra as well. Natsu clasped his hands together, readying an attack again, and could feel both flames mixing for it.

"Roar of the sky fire dragon!" he yelled, as the blood orange flames erupted from him. They shot towards Tarasu, who immediately put up a shield of his own sky flames, the two flames battling against each other viciously. However, soon Natsu's pushed through, overcoming the opposing flames and forcing Tarasu to have to dodge quickly, though his clothes still got singed.

Natsu was soon in front of him, aggressively attacking, and he could only block in turn, though the hits were definitely slowing down his movements gradually. He could feel the effect of the sky's harmony factor, as his own flames were starting to go out, being nullified by the surprisingly stronger ones.

However, he suddenly remembered that there were supposed to be two enemies as Natsu broke away, despite having the upper hand. A large explosion resembling sound came from behind him, and he identified it as flames being mass-produced. Whirling around, he saw dying will flames being fired out of Tsuna's arm parts as both hands were crossed, and the gloves were lighting up in his palms due to the gathered energy.

"Counter burner combustion levels have stabilized," the familiar, computerized, female voice announced again, his headphones not having been taken off since the mission.

"Right and left burner have also stabilized. Target lock and gauge symmetrical. Standby for launch!"

"XX Burner, version fire dragon!" Tsuna yelled, as a jet of the mixed flames exploded from his hands. However, instead of Na-tsu's face adorning the front like usual, the flames morphed into that of the front half of a dragon, its jaws open in a silent roar.

"Shit!" Tarasu cursed, as he sent his own mixture of high-level sky flames and wind shooting towards the attack while putting a shield of sky flames. However, the powered up blast easily broke through both attack and defense, and rammed right into Tarasu, his scream soon being covered up by the noise of the attack.

Happy during this time had positioned Natsu behind Tsuna, and he formed another 'Roar of the sky-fire dragon'. The fire, slightly more red than Tsuna's, swirled around the attack in a spiral shape, and increased the power drastically.

Behind them, the guardians, Blood Moon members, Enrico, and select Fairy Tail members watched in shock. They felt the roof beneath them begin shaking, and saw the far end beginning to collapse. Realizing that the building was going to be destroyed soon, they quickly managed to get down to the ground, Blood Moon members taking the still unconscious Aria and Toshiro. They landed on the ground just as the building behind them crumbled, the once sound structure collapsing in on itself, unable to take the force of Natsu's and Tsuna's combined attack.

Tsuna's flames finished expelling from his hands at the same time Natsu's did, and soon the two were engulfed in dust rising up from the demolished guild. Coughing, Natsu and Happy moved to leave when suddenly Tsuna's dying will flame flickered out and he began plummeting to the ground, which was now a lot further away without the roof.

Happy and Natsu quickly dived after the Tsuna, and just before he was about to hit one of the rubble piles Natsu managed to catch his hand, Happy immediately flapping heavily due to the added weight. Drawing out the last of his magic, Happy flew the two teens towards where the rest of the guild was. They emerged from the dust cloud, 10 feet from the ground, just as Happy's magic finally ran out, causing the three to be dropped the rest of the way.

Natsu winced a bit due to muscle fatigue, but managed to right himself up again as he heard shouts coming from Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Carla, and the guardians. Raising his head, he couldn't but smile as they all came running towards them. Beside him he heard a groan, and turning his head, saw Tsuna slowly pulling himself up as well, though he only got far enough to get into a sitting position much like Natsu himself. The group reached them, and Natsu cried out in surprise as he found himself being glomped by Lucy as well as Wendy. Erza, Gray, and Carla stood back, smiling, and making no move to help him anytime soon.

Tsuna also gave his signature scream as he too found himself being tackled by a frantically apologizing storm guardian. Yamamoto just laughed like usual, while Ryohei yelled something extreme. Mukuro chuckled, while Chrome gave him a shy, but obviously relieved smile. Standing away from them all stood Hibari, but even he had a small smile on his lips, though it was hard to tell.

"G-Gokudera-kun… can't… breathe… injuries…" Tsuna gasped out, Gokudera immediately letting go, and soon was beating his head against the ground again, requesting permission to commit seppuku(1), much to the panic of Tsuna. Finally managing to stop Gokudera, he grit his teeth as he could feel all the wounds taking full force, going all the way back to the fight against the bandits before this whole thing started 24 hours ago. Ryohei quickly came forwards, and began using his sun flames close up Tsuna's wounds, only leaving bloodstains behind.

Natsu managed to get Wendy and Lucy off, and Wendy also set to work on healing his wounds, which only consisted of rather fresh ones, unlike Tsuna's. After a few minutes she finished healing them, as they luckily weren't too severe, though it was still rather tiring on her. Glancing to her right, she saw Ryohei also finishing up his own healing, surprisingly good at it, as she had almost expected someone like him to say men should walk it off.

Ryohei finished, and with the help of Yamamoto and Gokudera, Tsuna was righted to his feet, Natsu also getting up with the help of a rather unwilling Gray, since Erza was too weak to help, Lucy outright refusing, and Wendy, Carla, and Happy weren't strong enough to be of much use, especially Happy, who had already fallen asleep.

Smiling, they began to move forwards, heading over to where the still shocked guild stood. However, before they could even take more than one step, a laugh sounded, small at first, but then growing, until it clearly rang through the now destroyed clearing. Turning towards the sound, their eyes widened as they saw Enrico standing there, an almost pleased glimmer shining in his eyes. Smiling, he actually bowed to them with a flourish.

"Well, well, I must say I wasn't expecting this result all that much," he laughed, clapping a bit as he straightened up again. The group watched with wide eyes, trying to figure out what exactly was happening, as he continued.

"Though, I guess I must still thank you. It would have been rather troublesome to get rid of Tarasu. In all honesty, I couldn't care less whether or not Fairy Tail was destroyed," he announced, and they stared at him in shock.

"What do you mean, you couldn't care less? For the past however many hours, you've been working with Tarasu to try and kill us, plus all the planning before hand," Erza growled out, eyes narrowed. Enrico in turn made a disapproving noise, shaking his head like he was talking to a child.

"I may have assisted, but it was only to help with my goal. If the Vongola got destroyed, then I would be happy, and probably would have left Tarasu right then and there, not helped with his silly ideals about correcting all of the 'terrible light guilds'. I can't believe he actually fell for everything!"

By the end of his speech, he had begun laughing again, pleased with something that was unknown.

"When you say, he fell for it, you don't mean…?" Tsuna asked uncertainly. His hyper-intuition was acting up again, and he really hoped that he was wrong, however, he doubted that, as he was never wrong when it came to things like this, unfortunately.

"Ahh, trusty intuition, right, Decimo? But yes, you're correct. Everything, and I mean everything, relating to Blood Moon," his eyes narrowed, and his grin turned almost predatory, a malicious gleam in his eyes. "Has been plotted by the Serato famiglia since the beginning."

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><p>(1) An old form of suicide in Japan, usually used by samurai. Rather than being captured or killed by the enemy, they would instead kill themselves by slitting their stomach open, having believed that that was where the heart was. Even if they were wrong, it was still effective either way. ._.<p>

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><p><strong><span>And the poll is still up, in case you guys hadn't figured out by the last however many reminders. ^^''<span>**

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><p>AN: Woot, another chapter done, with a word count of 6041. :3 I'm beginning to feel like these author notes are getting really repetitive… OTL Anyways, of course even though they finally manage to beat Tarasu, we can't forget about Enrico. *sigh* Well, next chapter will reveal more about the plots and plans of Serato, so I hope you'll look forwards to it! Sorry if the ending of the battle seemed a bit rushed, but, I tried… Thanks to all who reviewed, favourited, and alerted this story, as usual. And again, please keep reviewing to help with my muse. Even random gibberish is appreciated. xD Until next chapter though, ciao!


	19. The Final Confrontation

A/N: God, I know it's been forever since I updated, nearly a month. ;A; Urgh, a lot of things have just been hectic lately, mainly the big exam for harp have coming up. So many technique and exercises I need to learn. OTL Plus I hit major writer's block for this chapter, and my brain was already being murdered by poetry in school, as well as the fact I've gotten the flu or something. Anyways, once again so sorry for the delay. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, honestly!

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><p>icefox94: Yeah, I wasn't sure if it was predictable or not, probably was, but meh. Though I thought I wrote them using magic when they destroyed the town? ._. *confused blank face*<p>

TheCrazy CatWho LovesTo HugChairs: Suspense is always a wonderful thing! *is shot* Yeah, and of course, I end up epically failing to update. *is shot again*

OBSERVER01: Of course he should burn. Most of them deserve to burn. :3

A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Well I'm happy with the review! Though don't actually worry yourself about getting a review in. oxo I was kind of like that too. Like, 'Yes! I can finally stop torturing poor Tsuna, Natsu, and the others!' And then I was like, 'Oh wait, Enrico… Yeah, might want to do something with him. OTL' And I think I translated a word into Italian, fiddled around with it a whole whack, and got Enrico. Right now it translates back to Henry. Which was definitely not it. Ah well. ^^' And I'm glad Tsuna and Natsu seemed awesome to you. That's what I was going for in this chapter.

anon: Ah, well we'll just have to see what happens later on. ^^

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><p>Please don't kill me for the late update! *cowers*<p>

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><p>"What?" Erza shouted as the words left Enrico's mouth.<p>

"I'm sure you heard me correctly, Titania," Enrico responded. Everyone was either shocked, or sending glares over at him; even Yamamoto's usual grin vanished.

"But…how?" Lucy asked, eyes wide, and the man's grin grew wider, if that was possible.

"Ahh, that's the best part. We were able to find out about Reborn's request to Giannini to make a dimension-jumping machine for use on Vongola Decimo. We ourselves immediately set to work on it, and without having to worry about only being able to work on one project at a time, contacting others for help, and actually being competent in what we do, we got the machine finished a month before yours."

"Not a week after, the other divisions finished with the side projects, which allowed for flame or magic use, and also one that let us choose a certain date to go to. With those finished, we began gathering information on this world, and figured out that the best way of defeating Tsunayoshi when he was here would be through a dark guild. However, getting into a high enough position, or finding someone that would rage an all out war against Fairy Tail and the Vongola wouldn't be possible, so the best solution-"

"Would be to make your own," Gokudera suddenly cut in, eyes narrowed as Enrico blinked before continuing.

"Exactly, storm guardian. It was one of my top men that volunteered to go into the past and start Blood Moon, only being second to my right-hand man. Soon, we had built the now destroyed guild, with some of Serato staying to be the first members, while the rest either headed back or taking on their own tasks."

"But why not have the Serato run Blood Moon attack, rather than go through all this trouble?" Lucy asked, and it was Gokudera who answered again.

"Because the magic made from their machine wasn't as strong as someone from this world, correct? I noticed when I fought those sun flames. Yes they were very powerful, but that was all it was, nothing else. It wasn't a true dying will flame. Even when Juudaime used magic from Natsu, his sky flames were a much higher power, and vie-versa."

"Correct again Gokudera. Yes, the machine can't make the power as strong as something natural, if you consider dying will flames and magic normal that is, and unlike Tsuna, we're in fact slightly inferior to strong wizards. With that weakened power, taking on Fairy Tail would have been even more hopeless than it was this time. So we needed the strongest people we could find to run Blood Moon. However, getting the necessary hate planted into that of an adult wouldn't have completely blinded them like it would to a child, so in the end, my subordinates had to stay around for 15 or so years, waiting for the optimum time for Tarasu and the others to take control of everything, and give them their flames. Then all I had to do was come along with that power, make an offer to help take out the guild that supposedly destroyed both Tarasu and Aria's town, and the whole plan would be set."

"Though I must say, I didn't expect you and the others to take out all of Blood Moon. But, it doesn't matter to me all that much whether they succeeded or not, just as long as we could," he finished with a pleased smirk, and glanced over at the six main guild members, five conscious, as Aria had come to a minute after the guild had crumbled. Their faces were absolutely enraged at having been tricked all this time, and the revelation that it was Enrico's fault all along for the death of their families.

"But if you're weaker to people that we just beat, what makes you so certain you can beat us?" Gray asked, eyes narrowed.

"That's just it, Fullbuster. After the battles against Tarasu and the others, you've used all your power and received many injuries, enough that finishing you all off would be a since. The only concern is Makarov right now," he responded, glancing to the side at where the short man stood, and unreadable expression on his face.

"W-wait, first of all, who are you, and what are you talking about dimension jumping? And what kind of grudge do you hold against Tsuna?" Levi's voice suddenly sounded, and Enrico almost looked surprised at that.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Enrico Shalet. And you mean the Vongola hasn't told you yet?"

"Isn't Vongola the name from one of Tsuna's ancestors?" the blue haired girl questioned, and Enrico blinked.

"Ancestor? I guess his ancestor madethe name, but no one has ever had that for their actual name, first or last. I'm actually quite surprised Tsunayoshi was actually able to keep something like that secret. And to think, you all willingly confronted a guild for one person who you barely knew, and didn't even question _why_ he was kidnapped," he said amusedly, and Tsuna felt his blood run cold. Enrico was right. He had lied to all of them, they had even risked their lives for him, and yet he never told them anything.

"Enrico, what do you think a guild is?" Makarov's voice rang out in the clearing easily, and Enrico blinked as he looked down at the white haired man.

"What do I think a guild is? What else other than a place where wizards gather for jobs or for their own selfish ambitions?" he questioned, and a knowing gleam seemed to shine in Makarov's eyes.

"That is exactly why you have failed your plan, Enrico, if that is what you think. A guild is like family to each other. No one person, no matter how short their stay, is treated less than another. It didn't matter to us why Tsuna was captured, just that he was, and we would be heartless to not try and rescue him. This is why our guild is strong," Makarov responded, and the rest of Fairy Tail nodded their heads as the wise words were spoken. There was a short silence, when suddenly, it was broken by laughter, coming from Enrico himself.

"A family? Everyone equal? Heartless to not rescue him? Geez, you're as bad as the Vongola Decimo and Primo. Both weak with emotions, no ambitions, being driven by the need to protect others, and not for their own advantages. Someone like Xanxus would have been so much better suited as the next boss, and it seems like Fairy Tail needs a more strict master as well," he laughed out, leering, before continuing.

"Still, talking is going to prove rather useless, as it won't change your actions or views, and I doubt any single person agrees with me, perhaps not even the dear top six members of Blood Moon."

The mentioned people, those who were conscious at least, growled at him in anger, glaring. Everyone tensed though as Enrico began moving forwards, eyes set on Tsuna. He halted though as suddenly he found a hand pulling the back of his shirt taught, preventing movement without ripping the white fabric. His eyes shifted to the side, and he followed a huge, extended arm back over to Makarov, who uncharacteristically had a serious look on his face.

"Ahh, I should have known that the other guild members would still be in fighting condition, especially you, Makarov," he smirked, as his eyes shifted to the side again. Suddenly a surprised yelp was heard, and the old man turned to see a barrier of sky flames surrounding all of Fairy Tail. As his arm had gone back to normal, another barrier was made, this time around him. He lined up a powerful punch to it, but it didn't even crack, and he felt pain shoot through the arm. Even when he tried to grow into his giant form, the barrier held fast at the same size, forcing him back to normal.

"You're not going to get out that way Makarov. The barrier is unbreakable," he announced with a pleased smile, as he turned back over to Tsuna.

"W-wait, if you can just capture people like that, then why would you need to gather Blood Moon?" Tsuna questioned, confused.

"Why, do you honestly think that pure sky flames couldn't break through this, Tsunayoshi? Honestly, while only those flames can break it, it would still put me at a severe disadvantage, and especially against you, with zero point breakthrough revised as well as first edition, it would be absolutely useless," he grinned, chuckling lightly. Before Tsuna could even blink though, Enrico was behind him, and the guardians and unconfined Fairy Tail members let out surprised cries.

Fingers snaked around Tsuna's throat, and suddenly, the small teen found himself lifted in the air from behind, air coming slowly and in harsh breaths. He was thrown a few meters away, and landed with a thud that knocked the breath out of him. Slowly, he drew himself to his feet, only to find the familiar barrier around him, sending shudders down his spine as it reminded him of the final battle with Byakuran. Hurriedly, he reached into his pocket and groped around for his pill case, but after a few moments of frantic searching, including that of the other pockets, he realized that it was gone.

"Looking for this, Decimo?" a voice suddenly asked close to Tsuna's ear, and he jumped, whirling around to see Enrico right behind him, having entered the now larger barrier as well. In his hands, Tsuna's pill case was grasped firmly, the round blue orbs seeming to taunt the brunette at with how close they were, yet nearly impossible for the current him to reach.

Still, he lunged forwards, reaching for the precious pills, but Enrico easily evaded, Tsuna's speed rather slow right now.

"Hmm, seems that Reborn hasn't trained you to fight without the dying will pills yet, has he? And you can't even activate your flames by will. How sad," he stated, a bored expression on his face. Tsuna glanced over to where his friends stood only to find them also stuck in another sky barrier, and he had to wonder how much power Enrico had to make those, though he didn't seem able to use it for offensive purposes.

Suddenly, a punch connected with his cheek, and he was forced to the ground. Looking up, he saw Enrico standing over him.

"Pay attention, will you, Vongola? I though you would at least know this after telling Natsu the same thing before, or taken a lesson from Tarasu's defeat," he drawled, mockingly, and Tsuna growled as he pushed himself to his feet, thankful that Ryohei had been able to seal his wounds so well, though they still throbbed.

His eyes focused on his pill case again which lay a few feet away from Enrico's back, but he knew that the man was much faster than him. Eyes narrowed, they shifted back over to Enrico who was smirking, as he detected the not so hidden fear in the brunette's eyes.

"You really are nothing without those pills, or Reborn's bullets, are you Tsunayoshi?" he asked, though already knew the answer. He had read Tsuna's report multiple times and though he had to say he was impressed with his strength and resolve, it was obvious he was useless without his pills.

"You bastard, don't you dare do anything to Juudaime or I swear you'll see hell!" Gokudera yelled from his confines as he banged on them, ignoring the pain from touching the sky flames.

"I wish you luck in getting out then, Hayato. Though even a weak sky flame can break these barriers, no matter how strong the level of other ones, it will never crack from anything but sky," he shot back, his voice easy to hear. Gokudera growled, but it was obvious to anyone that the man wasn't bluffing, and trying to break through would only waste his flame energy.

Tsuna glared at the figure in front of him, who was currently fiddling with one of the white dress shirts cuffs, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Even if you kill me here, there'll still be Vongola blood in my dad's veins, so he can just produce another heir, Enrico," the brunette growled out, but the other merely glanced at him.

"Of course I've thought of that, but the Ninth is getting rather old. Vongola would be without a boss for quite a few years before the heir could take over, and during that time, it would be absolute chaos, even if Xanxus was giving control until then. That's all it would take for the Vongola to fall, so no matter what, killing you will result in the long overdue fall of that spiteful mafia famiglia you're supposed to take charge of."

Tsuna knew that he was right of course, and though he didn't doubt that it would still be pretty hard with the Varia still there, and hopefully, his guardians, if other families allied against them, it wouldn't be long before they were defeated and probably killed. He blinked though as Enrico suddenly charged forwards, and relying on instincts alone, he quickly ducked, or moreover fell, to avoid another punch aimed right at his face.

Another attack was aimed at him, which he managed to dodge by rolling to side, and he hurriedly scrambled to his feet, adrenaline heightening his senses to at least give him a bit of a chance in the battle. However, it was soon obvious that the other man was much more skilled than him, as a minute later, Tsuna hadn't landed one single hit, and in fact couldn't even try since he was always dodging. Enrico though had gotten in quite a few blows to him from either punches or kicks, and Tsuna could already feel the bruises forming.

Another swing was aimed at him, and he bent over to avoid it, feeling the wind shift his hair as it passed overhead. Unfortunately, he left his back undefended now, which he noticed belatedly, along with the flash of silver in Enrico's hand. Suddenly, he could feel pain shoot through him, as skin was sliced rather deeply, and he gave a short yelp of pain. He had crouched down and avoided being stabbed completely, but the cut was still deep. He quickly stood up and took a step back, but Enrico matched the movements, and he found the bloodied knife now stabbed into his side.

Enrico pulled out the blade again, smirking at the flow of crimson that ran down the brunette's side, further staining the white school shirt he wore and creating another tear. Gasping, Tsuna fell to his knees, one hand pressed against the wound while the other propped himself up. Managing to raise his head, his eyes widened as he saw the knife raised again, and he closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the attack come.

He flinched as the sound of a powerful punch rang through the air, though oddly enough he didn't feel any pain. Cracking one eye open, the other quickly followed at the sight in front of him.

"N-Natsu!"

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><p>Natsu growled as he watched the fight, easily identifying Enrico as the stronger combatant. Though he hadn't fully understood the brunette's explanation about everything on the first day he had met him, and had forgotten quite a few things as well, it would seem that he needed those odd blue pills to fight.<p>

"You bastard, don't you dare do anything to Juudaime or I swear you'll see hell!"

Natsu glanced over to where Gokudera had yelled in the separate shield beside him that held Tsuna's friends – though he wasn't quite so sure about Hibari and Mukuro, since one looked like he could care less about what happened to Tsuna and the other wanted to posses him or something weird like that.

"I wish you luck in getting out then, Hayato. Though even a weak sky flame can break these barriers, no matter how strong the level of other ones, it will never crack from anything but sky."

Natsu blinked and turned his attention back to Enrico, words processing in his head as Tsuna stated to say something.

'_Even a weak sky flame…' _

His eyes suddenly lit up at that, and he drew forth his magic again. To his dismay however, he could only expel his usual ones, though he definitely sensed the sky flames still resting in him, not yet having fully gotten out of his system. He tried to focus on them, but no matter what, they just wouldn't come out. He could hear the others questioning him, but he ignored the voices in favour of concentrating.

His train of thought though was broken when a pained cry rang out through the air, and his eyes widened as he saw the knife slash Tsuna's skin, blood coming to the surface quickly. His eyes narrowed again, and he ground his teeth in frustration.

'_Dammit. I just want to help out my friends, and yet I can't just because these stupid flames won't come out. Come on sky flames, just once more. Let me use you, so I can protect Tsuna!_

He silently yelled in his head. Suddenly, the orange flames roared to life on both of his hands, and he couldn't help but smirk. Without hesitation, he thrust his hand forwards into the barricade, feeling it cave in. He pushed through, though the barrier for some reason didn't shatter and only melded around him, probably since the sky flames weren't completely pure nor his own. Still, he didn't have time to think about it, and soon found himself sprinting towards Tsuna and Enrico's barrier, the brunette now on his knees from another stab wound.

He reached the wall and just like before pushed through it, to where Enrico was readying to stab Tsuna again. Snapping his arm back, he sent a powerful punch to the oblivious man, and watched in satisfaction as his face twisted in shock as he was sent sprawling across the ground. Natsu panted as the rage and adrenaline left him, and his flames died out.

"N-Natsu!" Tsuna yelled out in surprise, and he turned towards the brunette with a grin on his face.

"Yo, Tsuna!"

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><p>Tsuna stared in shock, surprised that Natsu had managed to get through the barriers, before he remembered that Natsu had his sky flames in him currently. A low groan brought their attention back to Enrico though, and they turned to see him pushing himself up, one hand holding a red cheek that was bruising quickly. Quickly, Tsuna turned to where his pills had lain, only to see empty space.<p>

"Tsuna, catch!"

He turned towards Natsu's voice, only to see his pills flying at his face, which he barely managed to catch. Fully aware that Enrico was now on his feet, he hurriedly got out two pills and swallowed them, his mittens turning into the familiar gloves as soon as he got them on afterwards.

Feeling strength flow through him, he managed to get up, ignoring the side wound for now as he faced Enrico with Natsu beside him. Enrico's eyes were narrowed, but suddenly, a spark seemed to flit through him, and he began laughing. Actually laughing.

"Haha, well, Tsuna, it seems that you've gotten back your ability to fight. Unfortunately for you and Natsu, you've forgotten about one thing. While I don't stand a chance in close combat now and my sky barriers are useless, I still have one last ace up my sleeve," he managed to get out, before the laughs ended and his eyes hardened. He raised his hands and a magic circle formed in front of them.

Tsuna was about to ask what he was trying to do without managing to touch them, plus the length it takes to brainwash a person, when suddenly pain erupted in his head, five times worse anything else he had felt. He harshly bit down on his arm to stop the screams he wanted to let out, and could taste the metallic blood coming out from the now broken skin, though the pain felt like sticking your hand in warm water compared to the pain in his head.

"While it would normally take a long time to brainwash others, as long as no more than a day has passed since a brainwashing spell has been broken, I can still reactivate it. Normally, pain like this would ruin anyone's brain, the speed of the brainwashing killing them, but since this is Vongola Decimo we're talking about, he's sure to be fine," Enrico chuckled, and Natsu stared at the man in shock.

"Why, you bastard," he growled out, absolutely seething in rage. His hands lit up with flames again and he took a step forwards to stop the spell, but suddenly the magic circle disappeared. Blinking, he turned to Tsuna who was getting up again, but any words he was about to say died out. The brunette's eyes were replaced with the blank dull shade of grey again, just like when he was brainwashed before. The brunette got up to his feet, a neutral expression on his face, and he stared at Natsu.

"Tsuna, Natsu is an enemy. If you would be so kind, please eliminate him, or make it so I can do so," Enrico commanded in a somewhat happy tone, and Tsuna nodded in conformation. Natsu took a hesitant step back, but suddenly Tsuna was charging at him, punches flying. He barely managed to dodge them, and belatedly noticed that the sky flames were still pure like his usual state, something that shouldn't be. He blinked as suddenly Tsuna blurred, and not a second later he was in front of Natsu, fist raised. Natsu froze as the punch moved towards him, but suddenly, Tsuna also froze, his hand inches away from hitting the intended target.

"Tsuna, what's wrong. You're supposed to be defeating Natsu. Why stop?" Enrico asked, barely hidden annoyance in his voice. Though he didn't understand why, Tsuna's flames were still pure as ever, so the chances of him defeating Natsu are high, yet still the fist remained steady. Tsuna's eyes shifted over towards him, an indecipherable look in them as they regarded Enrico, before his mouth opened.

"Perhaps it's because I know who the real enemy is," was the reply that came from Tsuna, however, an identical voice also came from behind Enrico. His eyes widened as suddenly Tsuna evaporated into mist flames, and a presence behind him became known. Whirling around, he saw the actual Tsuna there, eyes still a sunset orange, but it was too late as hands firmly planted themselves on his arms.

"Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition," Tsuna stated in a cold but powerful tone, and ice began crawling up Enrico's arms. It quickly trapped his arms at his sides and also his feet to the ground, though the rest took a bit longer. Shocked eyes returned to normal, and Enrico let out a defeated sigh as more ice encased his body, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Well, it would seem that the Vongola still defeat Serato and beat them down, which I guess is to be expected. Really, this whole plan was a gamble, especially with Blood Moon, but it seemed the best way to kill you. After all, I couldn't get you captured without the help of them, and even if I killed you as soon as I got the chance, I would probably be killed by Tarasu."

By this point the ice had encased every part of him except for his chest, neck, and head.

"Ah well, I can't say I fully regret this. It was still nice to meet you Tsunayoshi, even if it wasn't on the best terms. Perhaps I'll see you again," he finished, and Tsuna's own eyes widened in shock. However, the technique at that point had reached his head, and within a couple of seconds, Enrico was fully covered in the spiky blue ice.

Tsuna took a few steps back from where Enrico was now frozen, perhaps indefinitely, and dully noticed the sky barriers dying out. He blinked as his own dying will flame died out again, and with it, the strength to ignore the wounds he had gotten as well as exhaustion from all the fights. Collapsing to his knees, his eyes slid shut as unconsciousness finally overtook him, though he felt arms catch him before he hit the ground completely.

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><p>AN: Finally, Enrico is defeated! *fist pump* Was that okay? I'm not sure if the chapter was all that good or not. *sighs* And the total word count is only 4542 too. OTL Anyways, the next chapter, maybe two, will be the conclusion for this arc. The poll is still running, but I'm pretty sure I'll be making another story, which I'm quite excited for, and will probably be the time travelling one, which will have a few connections with this one, though not too many. A new story arc for 'The Flame That Crosses Dimensions' will be made, though I have no clue what to do with it. Anyone want to give some ideas? Once again, thanks to all who have favourited/reviewed/alerted this story. Keep giving reviews as well to help keep the muse high! Until next chapter then though, ciao!


	20. Aftermath

A/N: Um, not quite sure what to say. At least the update is on time! Unlike the last one… OTL

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><p>TheCrazy CatWho LovesTo HugChairs: Ah, I have read the Shimon arc, but I wasn't quite sure on the details of the Oath flame, as I thought that that Shimon ring attachment was needed for the flame. Was I wrong? ' A '<p>

Yumi del Vongola: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. ^^ I'll try to keep updates fast, though the next one is uncertain, as I have no clue what to do. OTL Ah well.

OBSERVER01: Thanks; I hope the chapter is up to standards. :3 (If there are any, I have no clue.)

icefox94: Yes, finally. ^^ Sorry if it seemed to drag on, looking back, it's been nothing but fights, hasn't it. OTL As for your question, just read the chapter. -w-

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><p>Hope you enjoy the chapter! And please read the AN at the end, though mainly just for the question.

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><p>Natsu stared in shock as Tsuna suddenly evaporated into what they called mist flames, if he recalled correctly. Turning to where Enrico was, he saw the real Tsuna standing there, his hands grasping the man's arms. Once again ice was radiating from Tsuna's gloves, spreading across Enrico's arms swiftly, before it slowed down. Natsu could hear some sounds, apparently talking, but from his distance he couldn't make out what they were, especially since the man's back was to him.<p>

Soon enough though, the ice had frozen over everything except his head, and as he said some last words, Tsuna's eyes seemed to widen in shock. However, not a moment later the ice finished freezing Enrico's entire body, as opposed to when Tsuna fought him and Gray. Tsuna took a few steps back away from the now frozen man, and Natsu saw the flame on his forehead go out as his gloves turned back into mittens again.

He blinked as the sky shields surrounding him and the others dispersed after the freezing finished, but quickly rushed forwards as Tsuna fell to his knees, no doubt the fights catching up to him. He managed to catch the brunette before he landed face first on the ground, and turned him around so he could carefully put him down on his back instead of his stomach.

He heard familiar yells, and looked up once again to see the others hurrying towards them. Most stopped in front of them, but both Wendy and Ryohei rushed past and went over to Tsuna, setting to work on healing the two stab wounds he sustained and some of the harsher injuries, though luckily none of the old ones had opened up again.

"Natsu! Are you alright!" Lucy hurriedly asked, worried for the fire mage, who nodded his head with a familiar grin on his face.

"Of course I am Luce," he reassured, using Lucy's nickname. "It was mainly Tsuna who got hurt, anyways," he added, a slight sad twinge in his voice, but he quickly shook it off. Blinking, he remembered the events from earlier, and turned towards Mukuro and Chrome, who were a foot or so away from the main group.

"I have to thank you guys though. The mist flames really helped. That's what they were, right?"

"Kufufu, that's right. It was undoubtedly a mist infused illusion, but something that weak was definitely not my work, nor Chrome's for that matter," the teen responded, and Natsu as well as the others blinked in confusion.

"But if it wasn't either of you, then who-?"

"That would be me, thank you very much. And geez, you don't have to be so harsh about the level of my illusions. I only got this power, like, a week or so ago," a feminine voice piped up. Everyone was surprised at the new voice, and they turned towards it, only to see Cynthia standing there, a smirk on her face despite her difficulty to stand straight with her injuries. Behind her stood the others, Eterna supporting Aria, while Akito seemed to have a slightly defensive stance behind Cynthia. Milo stood beside him, a blank look on his face, and Toshiro was nowhere to be seen, even when looking back at the spot they had recently occupied. What was really surprising though, was that there was a person Cynthia was holding, that being Tarasu himself, who was still conscious.

"What? Why the hell would you help us out when just a while ago you were trying to kill us!" Gray growled in response, and the girl rolled her eyes.

"It's kind of obvious Gray," she responded in a condescending tone, only making Gray glare harder at her, but she ignored it.

"Enrico just admitted to having manipulated us all, and indirectly killed most of our families, or at least helped cultivate anger for the light guilds. It's not like we would exactly want to save him, or let him fulfill his ambitions," she explained, before sighing.

"In all honesty, we had some doubts about the light guilds being responsible, but they were only suspicions until now. With his confession, Tarasu instructed us to help. Honestly, I'm surprised you guys didn't see us dragging him out from underneath a shield Milo made," she snorted, but everyone was too shocked to respond to any kind of anger at the comment. "I just needed a few sky flames from Tarasu, and then it was easy to get the illusion through the barrier," she finished, a small smile on her face, and the others blinked, stunned.

"Ah! Tsuna! You shouldn't move just yet!"

"She's extremely right, Sawada!"

Wendy's and Ryohei's voices brought the group out their stupor, and the guardians, team Natsu, as well as remaining Blood Moon members looked over to where Tsuna was pushing Ryohei and Wendy away, sitting up slowly. Pain was evident in his face, but still, he turned towards Tarasu, regarding him for a moment before speaking.

"What are you guys going to do now?" was all he asked. Tarasu blinked before sighing a bit.

"We're going to rebuild Blood Moon, but as a light guild this time. It's rather obvious that the light guilds aren't as bad as we thought and it was instead Enrico, and for some of us they were just an excuse to blame things on. We don't fully want to be grouped with you guys though, but I guess it's inevitable that we won't be able to remain completely separate. Just don't act like we're buddies or anything," he responded, and the others were shocked, including two of the Blood Moon members.

"Master Tarasu, are you serious?" Milo asked, eyes wide, and Akito mirrored his look.

"Yes, I am. You yourself didn't fully blame the light guilds, as it was urges from the one who saved you, was it not? I don't doubt that even he was someone from Enrico's plan. And Akito, you just needed someone to blame everything on," Tarasu shot back, and Milo's eyes quickly went to the ground as he nodded, Akito doing the same.

Everyone looked at them with looks of disbelief and mistrust, not fully believing that the people who had just caused them so much trouble would be willing to become good. There were a few people though who didn't share the misgivings, Tsuna being one of them as he nodded, and the familiar warm smile broke out on his face again.

"Well then, I wish you luck Tarasu," he replied happily, and Tarasu blinked before giving back a small smile.

"Though you guys attacked and kidnapped Tsuna, I'm willing to give you all a second chance, especially if Tsuna is willing to as well," Natsu agreed, grinning, and Lucy nodded beside him.

"I hope you get along well Eterna!" she smiled, and the said person blushed lightly, before nodding, her expression still blank as usual though. Finally, Makarov walked forwards, and extended his hand to Tarasu.

"I welcome you all as a new guild then, Tarasu. I'll help you get the guild legalized by the magic council and whatnot," he offered formally, and Tarasu looked shocked, before a relieved smile stole onto his face while he grasped Makarov's hand.

"I'll be depending on you then."

The guardians exchanged looks, before relaxing, knowing that if Tsuna trusted them, then they could as well. The other people in Fairy Tail looked reluctant, but also accepted it as Makarov did. Tarasu and the others standing behind looked rather relieved that they were getting at least a little bit of trust, before Aria suddenly spoke up.

"What are we going to do about the other members of our guild? They weren't manipulated like we were and legitimately hate light guilds, not to mention half of them are Enrico's subordinates."

Tarasu had a look of thought cross his face as he pondered the words, apparently not having thought about it yet.

"Well, they don't have to know about the change of sides prior to us rebuilding the guild in a more accessible area, and after that's done, we can let them decide what to do from there once we tell him," he responded after some time, a smirk on his face again. Beside him, Cynthia couldn't help but laugh.

"Can't wait to see their faces after that. But where are we rebuilding?"

"I think it's about time me and Aria returned home, don't you?" was all Tarasu said, leaving everyone confused except for Tsuna and Tarasu's closest members.

"Oh, by the way, wasn't there one more of you?" Natsu suddenly asked, and the others blinked in surprise.

"You mean Toshiro? Humph, good riddance I say. That guy was really corrupted, without a single nudge from Enrico's group. I saw him crawling of somewhere," was Milo's response, and the others nodded, none of them ever having wanted anything to do with him.

Tsuna opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly doubled over in pain as the last of the adrenaline in him left and he felt the full brunt of all the hits he had taken. Wendy panicked slightly before starting up her magic again, and Ryohei followed suit with his flames, only taking a few minutes before they were done. As soon as they moved away, Gokudera dropped to his knees in front of Tsuna, beginning to once again bang his head against the ground as he pleaded forgiveness for failing Tsuna.

Lucy, Wendy, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Happy couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing. Chrome, Erza, Gray, and Carla all smiled at the sight in front of them, and a bit further away Hibari and Mukuro smirked, luckily quite a distance from each other so they didn't break out into a fight suddenly. Tarasu and the others had to wonder how the panicking brunette in front of them was half responsible for taking down their guild leader and Enrico, but in the end just shook it off.

Tsuna glanced up for a moment and caught the eye of Natsu. The dragon slayer stared, before a grin broke out on his face as he gave a thumbs-up to Tsuna. The brunette felt a smile form on his mouth in response, but quickly had to turn back to Gokudera, frantically trying to calm him down as the bomber had managed to make his forehead bleed from the repetitive banging.

Finally managing to stop Gokudera's self abuse, Tsuna blinked when he heard footsteps coming over, and looked up to see Levy, Gajeel, and Lisanna approaching, the same trio from his first day at Fairy Tail. His face grew grim, and he had to wonder what they thought about him after everything that happened. He blinked in surprise though when he saw that they had smiles on their faces, though Gajeel had more of a smirk.

"Tsuna! Are you okay?"

"You're not hurt too bad right?"

Immediately Levy and Lisanna began asking questions, pure concern in their voices as they pulled Tsuna to his feet and looked for any wounds that Wendy or Ryohei might have missed, much to his embarrassment. Finally, they seemed satisfied and stepped back. Tsuna sighed in relief, before nearly falling back to the ground as a large hand suddenly hit the top of his head, ruffling his hair slightly. One eye closed to prevent hair from scratching at it, he looked up to see a muscled arm and followed it back to where Gajeel stood, a grin on his face.

"For a small runt like you, you're actually pretty strong," he commented, ruffling Tsuna's hair once more before also stepping back. Tsuna blinked in confusion though.

"Don't you guys want to know what Enrico was talking about?" he asked in a small voice, and the three looked slightly surprised, before they smiled.

"Tsuna, if you wanted us to know you would have told us, right? Though we're all really curious and wouldn't complain if you decided to tell us, we're not going to force you," Lisanna responded, and Tsuna couldn't help but feel slightly shocked, before a smile mirroring theirs slipped onto his face.

"Thank you, for not questioning me, even after this whole incident," he said with a formal bow, and blinked away the tears that wanted to fall because of the kindness and understanding they showed. Straightening up once he was sure all traces were gone, he walked back over to where Enrico was now frozen, the man's expression a sad smile, and Tsuna had to wonder if he could still see and think while he was frozen, as his eyes were open and seemed to stare right at him. Tsuna placed a hand on the ice, the touch cold, but it didn't wet his hand from melting like any other ice would. He sighed as he looked up, Enrico's last words replaying in his mind.

'"_Ah well, I can't say I fully regret this. It was still nice to meet you Tsunayoshi, even if it wasn't on the best terms. Perhaps I'll see you again."'_

"See me again, huh," he muttered to himself.

"Juudaime?"

"Tsuna?"

Tsuna blinked out of his thoughts, and looked over to where Gokudera and Yamamoto were standing, giving him worried looks. Dropping his hand, his usual smile was back on his face, albeit slightly forced, and he shook his head.

"I'm fine guys. Just wondering what we're supposed to do with him. It's not like we can get Vindice to take him right now, what with the fact that we're in another dimension," he uneasily laughed out, adding the last part in a lower voice that only the people nearby could hear, though he was fairly certain Gajeel, Lisanna, and Levy already had some pretty accurate suspicions.

"You should let me take care of that, Tsuna," Makarov suddenly spoke up, walking forwards.

"The magic council will be more than willing to take him into custody. They've been searching for him for quite a while really, since Blood Moon is responsible for quite a few things. I'm sure they would be happy to finally capture the guild master," he added with a smile, and Tarasu opened his mouth to say something, before realizing what Makarov was doing and closed his mouth again with a relieved sigh.

"Guess we can't keep the name Blood Moon then, can we?" he asked with a small smile, and Makarov grinned back.

"Not unless you want them breathing down your necks instantly, no."

Tsuna blinked at the exchange, but couldn't help but smile, glad that Tarasu and Makarov seemed to get along. Still, oddly enough he couldn't help but worry about Enrico, though he knew that he shouldn't.

He jumped slightly though as two hands patted his shoulder reassuringly, and he looked up to see both Lucy and Natsu smiling at him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Tsuna," Lucy reassured, s if knowing what Tsuna was thinking about.

"Yeah, I don't think someone like him will be in any kind of danger from anything. And besides, with the ice you made on him, he might as well be in a shield the whole time. I doubt they'll be able to figure out how to melt that kind of ice," Natsu added, and Tsuna felt his shoulders slump in relief.

"You're probably both right. Thank you, Lucy, Natsu. For everything really," he replied honestly, and they smiled at him in return, Lucy giving a slight squeeze to his shoulder before both dropped their hands.

"Hey, don't we get any thanks Tsuna?" Gray asked jokingly from behind the brunette, who turned around to see the ice mage grinning, with Erza smiling beside him. Happy was floating beside them having recharged his magic after a power nap, while Carla stood on the ground with Wendy beside him.

"Ah, sorry about that! I really have to thank you all. I've caused so much trouble, and yet you were willing to risk you're life for me, even though you've only known me for just a bit over a week. So really, thank you guys. And I'm sorry for the burden I put on all of you," he said, and finished with another bow, though a smile was on his face.

"Don't worry about it, Tsuna. We wouldn't abandon you even if this happened the day after we met you," Erza replied.

"Aye!"

"I'm just glad you're okay, Tsuna! It's times like these that I'm really happy I have healing magic."

"Hmph, it's good to know you're fine, though next time try not to make Wendy strain herself to much," Carla added, but a small blush could be seen on her cheeks as she tried to hide the fact that she was glad Tsuna was fine.

"C-Carla…"

"It was getting kind of dull around here anyway, especially with all the missions I got stuck on having to go with flame-brain over there," Gray said with a smirk, and instantly Natsu responded.

"Hey, I wasn't exactly happy either, pervert."

"What was that, pinkie?"

"You heard me right exhibitionist."

Just as Gray opened his mouth to give another insult, his head was suddenly whacked with a long metal staff, as was Natsu's, sending them both to the ground holding their now throbbing heads. Erza dispersed the staff again, glaring at them.

"What have I said about fighting, you idiots?" she asked as a dark aura radiated from her, making her hair almost look like it was floating slightly. The two males were frozen with fear, before they were suddenly on their knees bowing.

"We're sorry Erza-san!"

"A-aye!"

They immediately apologized, but before anything else could happen, they were distracted by laughter. Blinking, Erza looked up from the Natsu and Gray as they also raised their heads and glanced back, only to see Tsuna standing there, clutching his stomach as he laughed for the first time since the whole thing started. They couldn't help but smile at the light-hearted sound, and felt relief that Tsuna was able to smile again, even after everything had happened. When he finally stopped and caught his breath, Makarov spoke up again.

"Well, I think it's about time we all headed back home, wouldn't you agree Tsuna?" he asked, and the brunette nodded happily with a smile on his face, his guardians also mirroring the expression sans Hibari and Mukuro per usual.

"Hai, Master," he replied, and Natsu and Gray stood up as the group began walking back towards Fairy Tail again.

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><p>The reception back at Fairy Tail was quite lively, even though the amount of people who had stayed behind wasn't overly large. Tsuna had been immediately tackled by Mirajane, who fussed over his condition, what with the fact that his white shirt was torn and stained with blood, as well as his pants, though not nearly as much.<p>

Apparently, it seemed they kept a stash of clothes in the guild – most likely for Gray though – and soon he was changed into clothes that were still in one piece, a simple white shirt much like the previous one and some jeans, though the clothes were a bit big on him as he had to roll the sleeves and pant legs up a few times.

Sighing, Tsuna couldn't help but smile as he looked over the guild. Mirajane and anyone else who could cook had immediately set to work on preparing what could easily be considered a feast, with free drinks, which Cana took full advantage of apparently if the empty barrels beside her were any indication. He sat at a large table that held him and his guardians, and the Fairy Tail members that had gone inside Blood Moon to rescue him sat at another table beside theirs, along with Gajeel, Lisanna, Levy, Pantherlily, and even Elfman.

"Men always talk with their fists!"

"I EXTREMELY agree to the EXTREME!"

He winced at the loud voices of Elfman and Ryohei, who had immediately gotten along and were now shouting at each other from across the tables.

"Stupid Turf-top! If you keep yelling like that you're going to make me deaf!" Gokudera yelled, clearly angered.

"I EXTREMELY don't understand what you mean, Tako-head! This is a normal volume!"

"Like hell it is! All I can hear is your stupid yells. Their even louder than Elfman's!"

"Hahaha, maa, maa, Gokudera. Senpai is usually like this anyway. And besides, you're yelling as well."

"Shut up Baseball-freak. What would you know? And even if I am yelling, it's not nearly as loud as the idiot Turf-top's voice!" he growled back, and soon the three were bickering amongst themselves as usual, though Yamamoto was moreover laughing at everything said. Tsuna luckily sat at the end of the table closest to Natsu's table, so he at least wasn't caught up in the argument with them. Gokudera sat to the right of him, and beside the bomber was Yamamoto. Across from the black-haired teen sat Ryohei, and in front of Tsuna was Chrome, who was looking at her lap quite shyly.

The weirdest thing though was that Mukuro also sat with them, right beside Chrome but far enough over so he wasn't directly across from Gokudera, though it put him in front of Tsuna as well, much to his horror. Hibari as usual wouldn't have anything to do with them, and yet again had somehow managed to get into the rafters away from everyone else.

"Kufufufu, I see your guardians are as loud as always, Vongola," he laughed with the usual smirk on his face, and Tsuna couldn't help but shrink back a bit, still not fully used to talking with the person who once tried to possess him and nearly killed his friends. Even if Mukuro often said he would possess Tsuna, the words seemed rather empty, and Tsuna was willing to bet that he didn't truly mean them anymore, though the teen still undoubtedly hated the mafia.

Tsuna wasn't quite sure what to say, but was saved from having to say anything as a rock suddenly landed on the table right in front of him, eliciting another one of his screams from him. He stared at the innocent lump of earth in front of him for a few moments, before noticing a note tied on, much like when he had first arrived to the world. Though he really didn't want to, he reached out and removed the note, before unfolding it to find neat kanji written on it.

_Dame-Tsuna,_

_I'm not sure what happened over there, but I get the feeling that it's over. Giannini just finished the return device. However, I'm not bringing you back just yet. Actually, since I can use the device now, I'm coming over there myself, along with some… I guess you could say friends. They're sure to make things more interesting. By the time you finish reading this, you'll have about thirty seconds until we're there. So move somewhere that won't be to bad when we appear. _

_See you soon my Dame-student._

_Reborn_

_P.S. It's down to 25 seconds now_

Tsuna stared at the note in shock, before the words finally clicked. With another scream, he hurriedly stood up before dashing out the doors, ignoring the weird looks everyone gave him in favour of mentally counting down the time to his demise.

15 seconds.

He began running for the nearest open area, which was the large cobbled space behind the guild.

10 seconds.

Sprinting, he reached the back half of the building.

5 seconds.

Pushing himself some more, he managed to reach the center of the space.

3 seconds.

He stopped, panting, as his countdown ended.

0.

The area was suddenly engulfed in the black smoke tat had first transported him here, and apparently appeared again instead of dropping the travellers off in the middle of the air. Coughing, he waved his hand in front of his face to clear the smoke, but froze as familiar voices could be heard.

"VOOOOIIIIII! What the hell just happened!"

"Ushishishi, it seems Sharky is quite irritated~"

"Bel-sempai, you shouldn't irritate him."

"Muu, I better get paid, whatever this is.

"Kya~! I hope this black smoke doesn't stain!"

"Someone better hope they haven't inconvenienced boss, or else they'll get electrocuted."

"If some trash doesn't explain what happened right now, I'm going to fucking kill everyone in this area."

The smoke finally cleared, and Tsuna felt the last of his blood leave his face as his suspicions were confirmed. In front of him stood the Varia with Fran, all somehow in their ten-year later versions, though for some reason, Mammon was now only slightly smaller than Bel, purple hair now visible from underneath his hood.

Standing in front of them all was a man in black suit with a fedora on his head, a green chameleon resting on the rim. Tsuna's eyes widened as he recognized the outfit, and the familiar black curly sideburns. The man raised his head as black eyes locked onto brown ones, and a smirk formed on his lips.

"Chaos, Dame-Tsuna. Good job getting somewhere safe in time."

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><p>AN: Well, that would be the conclusion for the Blood Moon arc, with a word count of 4551! (Is anyone even interested in the length anyways? ._. )Though now I have no clue what to do. ;A; Please give me some suggestions. I don't think I can just use another dark guild popping up to attack Fairy Tail/ Tsuna, or have another mafia boss cross over to attack. So please give me suggestions! And I feel like I'm going to fail trying to write the new characters, but ah well. I'll try. OTL

Anyways, thank you everyone for reading this story, I honestly didn't think it was good enough that people would read an entire arc for it. OxO Please keep reviewing, and as I said, give me suggestions for the new arc. I have no clue at all what to do. I'm also going to start working on the time travel story as well, as I've got most everything planned out except the OC's I need for the enemies. Though there will be a few references to this story, its still quite separate. It would take place if Tsuna went home right now, and then two years later, as he'll be sixteen. Anyways, please suggest and review! Until next chapter, or maybe the next story if you're interested, ciao~!


	21. The New Arrivals

A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait! I hit a major writer's block for this chapter, and overall I'm not overly happy with it anyways, but whatever. Thank you for all the ideas! Really!

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><p>Dreamless-Sleep 777: Thank you for all the suggestions! And I used one of your ideas (others suggested it as well~) for the new arc, though this is a very small one. Hope you enjoy, despite the huge wait!<p>

Ignisha: Ahh… I was wondering if they could or not. Let's just pretend that they can't for now. OTL I tried to get the reactions to the Varia as accurate as possible, but, I don't know. I just had issues with this chapter…

icefox94: *grins as well* Of course not. Who can, really? I'll have to see about using actual arcs from the manga. In all honesty, I've only read up to book four in Fairy Tail, moreover watching the anime, and even then I haven't watched an episode since Cana's confession to her father in the S-class arc. OTL But I took a rough idea!

The Forgotten Sky: They might come in later. This is definitely the permanent crew, even though Reborn is here. I'll have to see. Though I must admit I have a soft spot for them, so chances are probably quite high they'll come in. I'll just have to see though. :3

Eternity666: Thank! I hope this chapter isn't too bad.

Anime-VGsUltimate00: All I can say is, your review brightened my day up so much. I burst out laughing when I read it, until my sister got annoyed and came to see what I was laughing about, and proceeded to burst out laughing as well. XD I was hoping for some fangirl reactions. :3 Try not to let Reborn kill you either. :p I used one of your suggestions, and I'll keep the others in mind as well!

Yuugano Yumi: They have to be the exact definition of chaos, don't they? And I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to get up! Urgh, I hate writer's block. I feel like I have a storage cabinet in my brain with my writing skills and it suddenly caught fire or something… OTL

kinglugia: Thank you! Hope I'm not too hated for the slow update. ^^'

OBSERVER01: We'll just have to see if they can actually manage to deal with the Varia and Reborn. Personally I'd probably be dead in five seconds, but let's hope they can do better then me. ._.

codenumber6: Whoa, I really like your suggestion! It's definitely being kept in mind! And most likely will be used. :3 Thanks for reading and reviewing, by the way!

fionlao: Quite late, though somehow I feel like they would just stand there watching even if they were here earlier. ._.

A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: I'm glad your exams are over! We just have final projects at our school, so the closest I'll know to your feelings are during the major exams every three years, the PAT's (Provincial Academic Test, I believe. ._.) I'm glad that the ending surprised you. I was kind of struggling to figure out how to proceed with the battle, since I didn't want to use another huge one like with Tarasu. Natsu and Tsuna are great at fighting together though. I can only imagine if they teamed up with Enma. XD And I didn't type in Henry for Enrico. It apparently just turns out to be that in English. ._. I don't even know what I based Enrico off of, or what word I used to get the original thing. OTL

Soul of The World: Haha, I plan to have fun with some Tsuna torture for the next while. :3 And sorry about the wait! Stupid brain…

.Xx: Woah, really? Awesome! I'm glad it was that enjoyable and not boring!

TatsuyaGoldWolf123: Ahh, where exactly was it fake like? I tried to make it seem okay, though I do admit it seemed a bit odd. Trying to put the direct manga context into a story format doesn't seem to work all that well. OTL Hmm, I wasn't too sure about what I was doing with the memories to be honest. ^^' And I really should have put that in. Poor Natsu and his transportation issues. XD

hinamori chrome: So glad you enjoyed it! And here is the more you requested. :3

Syrlai:

Chapter 2: I'm so happy that you're actually bothering to review multiple chapters. I love reading them. I was personally annoyed that all the good KHR/FT crossover fics I found were always discontinued, or moreover all of them were, which was part of the reason I decided to make my own. Since I really hate all these people who keep discontinuing the fics!

Chapter 3: I was worried it did sound boring, so I'm relieved to know it wasn't overly bad like I thought it was!

Chapter 4: Ryohei and Elfman would get along for sure. XD

Chapter 5: Poor Tsuna was kind of really crowded though, even if I completely forgot to say that. He's better for fighting one on one, rather then masses anyways as far as I can tell.

Chapter 6: I agree. Vongola and Fairy Tail would make the ultimate terrorist group.

Chapter 7: Haha, Hibari definitely is scary. ._.

Chapter 8: I'm glad to know that. I just always prefer to write longer chapter I guess. :3

Chapter 9: Mist battles are definitely one of the funnest to write. And yay for another Chrome appreciator! For some reason so many people think she's useless. ;A;

Chapter 10: Yes, Tsuna is quite annoying I would think, though you can't really blame him. And I was hoping that the memory from Yamamoto was touching, it was what I was aiming for.

Chapter 11: His hyper intuition had to awaken, so I figured it would be dormant again when he lost his memories, though I'm not sure. ._. Haha, personally I would be quite amused to see Tsuna getting slapped insanely again. Lal Mirch's slaps were quite amusing. XD And I figured, there might as well be one person who can deal with Ryohei, right? :3

Chapter 12: Ryohei doesn't care about logic. What doesn't kill him is just extreme. And brains will definitely turn the tide in any battles. Except maybe a strength battle. Not much use when lifting weights with only muscle. xD

Chapter 13: I seem to have soft spots for every character I think. I don't understand why everyone finds her useless and hater her. And yeah, it was the whip Virgo gave her in the amusement park. I feel like I'm making you rant a bit too much. o.o

Chapter 14: I'm glad the battles are descriptive! I personally hate the people that don't put in enough and make it so hard to see the fight. Haha, and that would be quite amazing with Hibari helping him. I'd probably be panicking thinking the whole thing seemed like a mass of 1827 though. XD

Chapter 15: Hmm, a Tsuna terminator. Interesting. XD And of course Hibari is like that. He can do whatever he wants. Because it's Hibari.

Chapter 16: I kind of have to wonder how Primo felt as well. And it's more of a fact, so I think it leans towards the compliment side. :3

Chapter 17: Haha, it really did. I always had to love all the interactions the characters can create, even between weird ghost/will power people who died 400 years ago. xD

Chapter 18: I wanted to utilize both of their skills as much as possible, so this is the result!

Chapter 19: Bad guys do seem to always come back, don't they?

Chapter 20: Definite time bomb right now. And I was kind of worried that the Aftermath seemed kind of cliché, but luckily not. Besides, it's kind of tradition so far in KHR for the enemies to turn good, right? Or is that just me?._.

TheRebelMage: It's nice to get some feed back from you! Happy to have pulled off the crossover well! ^^

LoStInIlLlUsIon: It's fine with the wrong chapter, though I was kind of confused as to when Tsuna became dark in chapter 5. xD I've always loved dark Tsuna personally, so I was happy I got to write this in all honesty.

Frostfire613: Ahh, I've been considering that. I'll have to see though.

BrokenBlackCat: He definitely needs a will by now. xD And I'm not sure. What kind of pairings did you have in mind?

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><p>Wow. That was a lot of reviews. ._. And there's probably twenty million mistakes in them since I was too lazy to proof read. OTL Anyways, finally, the actual chapter!<p>

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><p>Tsuna stared in shock at the people in front of him. No way. Of all the people Reborn could have brought over, why them? And was the man really Reborn? Sure, he looked like him and all, but…<p>

He was snapped out of his thoughts as a bullet pierced the ground right in front of him, causing him to jump and elicit one of his girl- err, I mean manly screams. The man in the suit was now holding a smoking green gun that was still aimed at the spot in front of Tsuna.

"Pay attention, Dame-Tsuna. You shouldn't be spacing out like that. It's not very boss like."

Definitely Reborn. Though he had to wonder why Mammon and Reborn were both adults now. Perhaps they used a twenty-year bazooka on themselves or something?

"Trash, what the fu-" Xanxus started to growl out, but a voice cut him off.

"Juudaime! Are you alright! You suddenly ran out of the guild!"

Tsuna quickly turned his head towards where he heard the slightly panicked shout, only to be met with the sight of his guardians, as well as Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Happy, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, and Pantherlily. They were all looking at him rather worriedly, minus Hibari, Mukuro, and Gajeel.

"Ah, everyone. I-I'm fine, really!" Tsuna responded, though it was obvious that he was extremely nervous about something or other, which everyone quickly noticed. For some reason, no one seemed to have noticed the new arrivals yet, and instead only looked at Tsuna.

"Tsuna, you're a pretty bad liar. Really, what's wrong?" Gray interjected, a small smirk in place after seeing the terrible lying skills of the brunette, though his eyes still showed concern. Before Tsuna could answer, someone else cut in.

"Ushishishi, seems like the peasant had gotten even more followers, eh~?" Bel laughed, his usual grin in place.

"VOOOII! Shut up Bel!" Squalo yelled, clearly annoyed, waving around his sword arm.

"Hahaha, it's Squalo!"

"Wha-what? The Varia?"

Bel's laugh, Squalo's yelling, the cheerful voice of Yamamoto, and Gokudera's stuttering brought the attention back to the new arrivals, and everyone seemed rather shocked to see the assassination group here, though the Fairy Tail members seemed more wary than anything.

"If someone doesn't tell me what's happening right now, this whole area is going to be nothing but ashes within the next 5 seconds," Xanxus suddenly snarled, his eyes burning with irritation.

"H-Hiieeee-!"

"Why you! How dare you disrespect Juudaime!" Instantly Gokudera was defending Tsuna, glaring.

"Ushishi. The puppy seems to be mad."

"Who are you calling a puppy?"

"He obviously means you, puppy," Fran responded in his normal monotonous voice, seeming rather uninterested in what was happening.

"VOOIII! Would some just answer the damn question already?"

"Hahaha, still as energetic as always, Squalo!"

"Damn brat! How did someone like you even beat me?"

"Hahaha!"

"You herbivores are being too noisy. I'll bite you to death," Hibari threatened, taking out his tonfas, and it seems that that was all it took. Bel soon had his knives hanging in the air from wires again, Squalo had raised his sword, Levi unsheathing his umbrellas, while Gokudera withdrew his bombs. They readied themselves to attack, but before they could move a sudden gunshot rang out through the air.

Everyone froze, and turned to see Reborn's Leon gun facing upwards still, his face covered by his fedora, and killing intent radiating from the man. He pushed his hat up enough to show one glaring eye, instantly prompting everyone to lower their weapons, though Hibari didn't seem all too pleased. At least he figured out that now was not the best time for a fight.

"If you're all done squabbling and trying to kill each other, might we talk? Actually, I want the guardians to leave. It will be too problematic with you all here," Reborn threatened.

"B-but, Reborn-san! I can't leave Juudaime alone-!" Gokudera started, but was cut off.

"Then Yamamoto, you stay here."

"What? Baseball-freak?"

"Yes, 'Baseball-freak'. Unlike you, he won't start yelling and attacking at the slightest thing that seems disrespectful to Dame-Tsuna. So hurry up and go."

Gokudera looked ready to protest again, but was suddenly pulled away by Ryohei, yelling about extreme cooperation or something, while Gokudera just shouted out swears. Hibari walked away, uninterested in being near them if there was no fight. Mukuro just gave another one of his creepy laughs, before following after Hibari with Chrome in tow, and Tsuna prayed that they wouldn't get in a fight and destroy half the town.

"Whoa, your hair is like, extremely long!" Natsu commented, sometime having moved over to Squalo as he now tugged on the long silver locks experimentally, a childish grin on his face.

"VOOOIIII! Stop tugging on my fucking hair and leave me alone!" Squalo yelled at Natsu, trying to slice him, but the teen merely dodged, landing beside Bel conveniently, and his attention was completely distracted from the raging swordsman.

"And your bangs are really long! How can you see past those even? Is there sometime of style to have super long hair or something?" he asked curiously, muttering the last part, and Bel only laughed, his usual maniacal grin on his face.

"Ushishishi, I can see because I'm a prince of course~!" he replied.

"Hmm? A prince? Then why are you wearing a tiara on your head instead of a crown?"

A dead silence fell, before suddenly Squalo burst out laughing, and even Tsuna had to hold in his laughter, knowing better then to laugh at Belphegor. Said blonde now had a tick mark on his face, his grin twitching, before he reached for his knives again.

"Ushishi, for disrespecting a prince, you need to die, peasant," he half laughed, half growled out, before throwing five knives at Natsu. Again he dodged, doing a backflip, but unfortunately for Fran he was right behind the pink haired male. The knives went flying right into his frog hat, adorning it with the familiar glints of silver that were often stabbed into the black fabric.

"Oww~ Bel-senpai. You're hitting the wrong person," Fran complained monotonously, a mock pout on his face. Another five knives found their way into his hat, and he let out a small 'Kero' in surprise.

"Shut up, Froggy," Bel laughed still grinning, though it became strained as Fran ignored him when Natsu started talking to the boy.

"What's up with him?"

"Bel-senpai's always like that. I suggest ignoring him."

"Ah, I see. By the way, what's with the huge frog hat? Is it practical?"

"Not at all. Bel-senpai just forces me to wear it. Even though Mammon's back."

Fran turned towards Bel, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Oi, Bel-senpai. Can I take this thing off?" he asked, but the only answer was another knife in his hat.

"No way, Froggy," he snickered.

"Natsu! Hurry up and get back over here!" Lucy yelled, looking a bit flustered. Natsu blinked innocently, before complying, once again joining them.

"I'm still fucking waiting, trash," Xanxus growled, an orange glow already forming in his hands, and Tsuna would've screamed if Xanxus's glare didn't intensify just before he could.

"Um, i-it's, w-well…"

Immediately the brunette started stuttering, and Reborn only shook his head at the pathetic display, before grabbing Leon who promptly transformed into a gun.

"Dame-Tsuna, let me help you," he said with a sadistic smirk, and Tsuna turned towards him wide eyed.

"What? No! Hiiee! Anything but-!"

His words were cut off as Reborn pulled the trigger. The Fairy Tail members watched in horror as a bullet pierced the brunette's head, sending him sprawling backwards. He lay there motionless, and just as Wendy was about to rush over, a flame suddenly flared up on the Tsuna's forehead. As if possessed, he was lifted back up onto his feet, though his clothes burnt away as he did so.

"Explain with my dying will!" he yelled, before turning towards the Varia, where an even more pissed off Xanxus now stood. Behind Tsuna, those who hadn't seen this before were either still shocked, or trying not to burst out laughing. Wendy and Lucy had small blushes on their face, but were used to seeing boxers after hanging around Gray so much.

"Reborn-hit-me-with-a-new-dimension-bazooka-invented-by-Giannini-which-sent-me-here-in-the-first-place-and-I-met-Natsu-and-all-the-others-and-fought-them-but-Lucy-helped-me-and-then-when-Erza-came-back-I-explained-stuff-then-Reborn-sent-a-rock-with-a-note-on-it-saying-not-to-tell-them-about-the-mafia-"

"VOOOIIIII! I can't understand a single word you're saying you brat! You're talking to fast!" Squalo screamed, and the others had to agree. Except for Reborn, who understood his dame-student perfectly, of course.

"then-we-returned-and-during-the-celebration-I-got-another-message-from-Reborn-so-I-moved-to-an-open-area-and-then-you-guys-arrived-and-are-now-in-this-dimension-as-well-probably just for Reborn's amusement," Tsuna continued, but as his 'explanation' ended so did the effects of the bullet. And he of course immediately blushed and screamed when he realized that he was once again standing in the open in nothing but his boxers.

"Wow, Dame-Tsuna. I didn't think that much would have happened while you were here. You need more training though, it would seem," Reborn chuckled, a dark smirk on his face that sent shudders down Tsuna's spine.

"VOI! How the hell could you understand that?" Squalo again yelled.

"I agree with long-haired captain. I couldn't make out a word besides the last few."

"Ushishi~ I have to agree with Froggy and sharky~"

"Why did you have to speak so fast Tsu-kun?"

"Muu, you should pay for the headache you just gave me."

"Trash. What the hell was that? Were we supposed to understand what you said?" Xanxus growled, and Levi nodded from his spot behind the raven-haired man. Yamamoto only laughed, grinning, while inwardly thinking about how talented Tsuna was to be able to talk that fast.

"You're all idiots if you couldn't. Basically Dame-Tsuna got transported to this dimension and met those people behind him, and stayed with them for a week before managing to get himself kidnapped. So they had to rescue him, he defeated the leader of the group, and got back to that building in front of you, where I sent him a note notifying him of our arrival. The worrying part though is that the group that kidnapped Tsuna was manipulated by the tenth boss of the Serato family, a long time enemy of ours, even going as far back as Primo's time. I didn't think they would go so far as to find out about Giannini's plans for the bazooka and make their own so much faster."

The Varia, too, were surprised, but mainly at the fact that Tsuna had managed to get out that much information in the five minutes, and especially that Reborn had understood it all. Tsuna was just praying to get some clothes. Everyone was snapped out of their thoughts though when a sudden killing aura was felt, sending chills down their spines, minus Reborn.

"I better not have heard that we got sent to a different dimension, trash," Xanxus's dark voice sounded, and while everyone was smart enough to keep their mouth's shut, Reborn of course just had to antagonize him further.

"That's what I said, Xanxus. I needed to make sure that Tsuna was keeping up on his training, and he needs to form better relations with the Varia as well. He was sent here in the first place to help train him against all kind of situations, and since this world uses magic and has wizards, what better way to advance his skills?"

"VOOIII! But why did you send us back instead of our ten year younger versions?" Squalo yelled.

"It's more entertaining this way," Reborn replied while casually polishing his gun, and everyone sweat dropped at that. Really, is that all Reborn cared about?

"I see that we have some new arrivals."

The voice made everyone blink and turn towards the guild, seeing a small old man standing at the corner.

"Ahh! Master Makarov-san!" Tsuna exclaimed in surprise, before nervously looking back at the Varia and Reborn. Luckily though, they seemed to have settled down at least a little bit, as there was no killing aura surrounding them and their weapons were sheathed. Or as sheathed as Squalo's can get.

"Chaos. I would assume that you are the one in charge of the guild that's taking care of Dame-Tsuna, are you not?"

"That's me, Makarov. Might I inquire who you are though?"

"Reborn, Dame-Tsuna's personal home tutor."

At that, everyone seemed rather surprised. This was the guy who Tsuna talked about being a sadistic mini spartan, who loved to see him in pain? And wasn't he supposed to be an infant?

"You seem a lot… older, than what Tsunayoshi described," Makarov drawled slowly, confusion evident on his face.

"Hmm, of course I do. Tsuna couldn't possibly give a good description of me," Reborn replied. The Fairy Tail crew was fairly certain though that Tsuna could at least get the age right, especially since the difference had to be at least 20 years.

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna, Varia, and mages. Go somewhere else. Me, Xanxus, and Makarov need to talk in private," Reborn commanded, still facing Makarov and not even sparing them a glance. Before anyone could protest though, Tsuna quickly nodded and walked away, effectively getting Natsu and the others to leave as well. The Varia followed, walking in their own group, though Levi was moreover dragged by Lussuria, as he refused to leave his boss's side.

Tsuna paused as he shot the three people a quick glance, before turning the corner of the guild, effectively blocking them from his vision. It was silence for the little bit it took him to reach the front, but then Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei broke into the quiet.

He couldn't stop the soft smile from creeping onto his lips as Tsuna saw his guardians just now entering the guild, walking into the building that was still holding a party and being as loud as ever. With another laugh, Yamamoto hurried forward to join them, and Tsuna began following. He had just reached the entrance to the outdoor café area, but yelped as a hand suddenly gripped his still bare shoulder and tugged him back. Of course, thanks to his clumsiness, he managed to fall, but he hoisted himself up into a sitting position soon enough. Glancing up, he saw Natsu and everyone else standing there, Gray evidently having been the one to grab him as he was in front of the group.

Tsuna accepted the hand extended to him by the ice mage and stood up, but couldn't help but fidget slightly as he stood up, seeing as to how he was still in his boxers of course. Stupid Reborn.

"Sorry about that Tsuna," Gray apologized, but he only waved it off.

"I-it's fine, Gray. Umm, did you guys need anything?"

"We wanted to ask you who those people are," Natsu bluntly replied, and Tsuna paled a bit at the mention of the Varia and Reborn.

"A-ah, well, they're, an… independent assassination squad?" Tsuna hesitantly responded, though it came out as more of a question. There was stunned silence, before it was broken by a familiar laugh.

"Shishi, the peasants seem rather surprised," Belphegor laughed, and everyone turned to see the Varia right behind them.

"Voi! Well of course they are, what with hearing it from the scrawny brat!" Squalo added in his usual loud voice, only causing Bel's grin to grow if possible. Behind them Levi just seemed to be in a deep depression, while Mammon looked completely annoyed, no doubt because he wasn't getting any money. Fran had his usual bored look on his face, and Lussuria seemed to be looking around for Ryohei.

"Oi, the 'scrawny brat' could pummel you guys," Gajeel growled, and Tsuna couldn't help but feel surprised at the fact the cold man was actually standing up for him.

"VOOIII! Like hell he could!"

"Long haired captain, didn't he already beat boss once before?" Fran asked with the same blank look on his face, despite the comment.

At that all of the Varia seemed to freeze, the words being a complete taboo amongst them, even if Xanxus wasn't around to here anything. Suddenly, Fran had a set of knives stabbed into his hat, a sword piercing it, as well as two umbrellas.

"Ushishishi, you shouldn't say something like that Froggy. We'd prefer not to die just yet."

"I'll kill you for insulting boss."

"You stupid newbie, you aren't supposed to say anything relating to that topic!"

"Eh? Tsuna already defeated that guy with the scars?" Natsu asked, blinking.

"As expected of him of course, with his conviction to his friends," Erza added with a nod and a small smile, seeming almost like she was in her own world as odd sparkles surrounded her.

"Whoa, Tsuna! You're really strong!" Wendy piped up, an admiring glimmer in her eyes.

"Amazing Tsuna! That guy looks really tough, too!" Lucy complimented as well, smiling.

Tsuna immediately started stuttering, flushing slightly at the sudden praise, but didn't really get any tangible words out.

"So? These guys really belong to an assassination squad?" Natsu asked, gesturing towards the group that had broken out into a verbal fight, nearly deafening anyone nearby.

"Y-yeah, though for some reason, those guys are all from ten years later. In other words, in their time I'm 24. I-I'm not sure why Reborn sent them though. I guess since they're calmer?"

"Calmer? What are their younger versions like then if this is calm?" Gray exclaimed, a thoroughly confused – and slightly horrified – look on his face, while Tsuna only lightly shrugged, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Erm, the younger ones would have probably destroyed half of Magnolia by now and tried to kill me and my guardians a couple dozen times," Tsuna admitted, while the others just stared blankly at him.

"And these are people who are supposed to be serving under you?" Gajeel asked, an eyebrow raised.

"VOOII! Of course we wouldn't listen to the scrawny brat right now. He's just a wimp. Though, we admit to occasionally obeying him later on when he isn't such a coward," Squalo cut in, growling, before yelling another 'voi' as Bel just missed his head with a knife, snickering.

Tsuna blinked in surprise at that. What was his ten year later self like if even the Varia listened to him? He just hoped that he wasn't like Reborn, though it wouldn't surprise him much if the infant's, or maybe adult's?, spartan attitude had worn off on him after being around for ten years.

Tsuna was pulled out his thoughts though as a familiar bang was suddenly heard above the yells of the Varia, and he jumped as he looked up, his eyes landing on a smirking Reborn with gun still in the air. Again. God, a smirking Reborn was _never _a good thing. Behind him stood a disinterested Xanxus, and a neutral Makarov, though an odd amused gleam was seen in his eyes.

"Dame-Tsuna, we finished the talk. We've decided to hold an event, which will include _all_ the groups present here. Yes, that means you too, Squalo," he announced, adding the last bit with a growl to the longhaired swordsman who looked ready to complain. Or just yell again perhaps.

"I probably, really, really, _really_, don't want to know, but… what is it?" Tsuna asked slowly, an almost despairing look on his face.

"We're holding an all out tournament."

"…Eh?"

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><p><strong>Just something I wanted to bring to attention. It seems fanfiction wants to be really strict on the M rated fics, and are going to be removing large amounts of them if they deem them too mature. Which means a lot of stories are going to be lost, perhaps forever. There's a petition to go against it though. Please, if you can, sign. And you can leave the postal code blank with some lines or something, for those who don't want to add that. Please help keep the stories up there, even if you don't read them yourself! <strong>

**www . change /petitions / fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net**

**Just remember to take out the spaces, and . org in between change and /petitions). We need 20,000 signatures, and it's only 100 short, so help us reach the goal and exceed it!**

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><p>AN: God, I know this is short, even after the whole wait! I'm so sorry! Only 3808 words. *sighs* Anyways, confession time. I actually have yet to read beyond the 4th book of Fairy Tail, as I'm moreover watching it, though even then I'm behind on the S-class ark, not having watched an episode since Cana told Gildarts about her secret. Urgh, such a bad fan. OTL So as you might guess, I have no clue what the tournament some of you are referring to is. So here's just a random one thrown by Reborn. I'm not sure when I'll get into another serious arc like the last one, though I have plenty of options to use from your ideas. Hopefully it won't be overly long. ^^' Thank you everyone who reviewed, and especially thank you for the ideas! I didn't think I would get such a good response! Anyways, hope the chapter isn't as terrible as I see it. OTL 'Till nest time, ciao!


	22. A Tournament Announcement

A/N: Well then, here's the next chapter. And I've gotten a few questions about pairings for Tsuna, so just wondering, but what pairings would people like to see? I'm open to anything. Seriously, throw whatever you want at me. I'm extremely open when it comes to parings. ^^'

VongolaHermit: Yeah, sorry about the long wait. OTL And I don't think that that taboo will be gone any time soon. XD And no, Wendy doesn't have a crush on Tsuna. At least as far as I know. It was really just admiration for him being so strong.

Anime-VGsUltimate00: Haha, glad to know you were so happy for the new chapter. And I think my siblings and parents think I've gone insane by now as well. ^^' Ah, and about the RP, I'd love to! But being a newb I can't figure out how to get to the RP. Maybe you could just give me your username for me to find you with? :3

OBSERVER01: Xanxus and Laxus are quite alike, aren't they? ^^ And about the pairings, I'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure who to pair with who.

Il Vietato Cielo: Gah! Please don't shoot me! Then I'll never be able to update!

Syrlai: Ah, thanks! I wasn't sure if the Varia were in character or not, so it's good to know that they are. And they are being idiots for trying to take away all those fics. I mean, I kind of understand what they're saying, but I'd rather not have to go another site to read them. -.-'

BrokenBlackCat: Glad to see the Varia are good! ^^ Haha, his life may very well be. Or at least a worse hell then before. xD And they're really friendly, so I figured Fairy Tail would have no issues befriending someone like Tsuna. And I'll see about the pairings! I'm quite tempted. In all honesty, I had originally planned this story as a yaoi one that had Tsuna constantly being harassed by his guardians. ^^' Yeah, the plan has kind of changed from there.

kinglugia: I'm sorry for the lack of good ideas. I just need some time to plan out the next arc. ;A; And please don't do that! I don't think I have any regrets right now!

Yuugano Yumi: Yeah, really sorry about the wait. Hope it wasn't so bad this time around though. ^^'

A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Haha, I'm glad I managed to amuse someone with my bad humour. ^^ And that team up definitely would be overkill. Seriously, I don't think there's anyone who could stand up to them. Well, maybe the Arcobaleno or Vindice… And Enrico's name was spur of the moment. ^^ As are most names I come up with. OTL And closure? I'm a fail, so I have no clue what that is referring to, unless you mean the ban. Urgh, stupid brain and your not figuring things out.

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><p>Anyways, enjoy the newest chapter then! And again, please let me know about your opinions on pairings for Tsuna, or even some others!<p>

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><p>"…Eh?"<p>

_Smack_

"Ow, Reborn! What was that for?"

"You looked like a complete clueless idiot just then Tsuna. When you're Vongola Decimo, you can't afford to make mistakes like that."

"But I don't want to be the next boss!" Tsuna immediately replied, only have a gun shoved in his face.

"What was that Tsuna?" Reborn asked, with a smirk on his face, and Tsuna gulped. Before anything else could happen though, they were interrupted.

"Juudaime! I brought clothes for you!"

"Ahaha, here, Tsuna, I also got your sweater. Good thing we thought to grab it after that first mission, neh?" (1)

Blinking, Tsuna turned around as Reborn backed off, only to have clothing shoved in his face.

"A-ah, thanks, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto."

Hurriedly, he put the clothes on, now wearing some baggy white cargo pants and a matching white shirt. Still rather cold after having been in his boxers just a few seconds ago, he also threw on his sweater, though left it unzipped. Looking over at it, he was surprised that the tear and blood stain from his arm wound wasn't there, apparently having been fixed by someone.

"Anyways, R-Reborn. What do you mean by an all out tournament?" Tsuna finally asked, looking at his devil home tutor. The man's smirk only grew in response, and Tsuna couldn't help but shudder slightly.

"We'll explain inside, Tsuna," Makarov answered instead, and Tsuna blinked before nodding as he, Yamamoto, and Gokudera followed the old man into the guild, the party finally seeming to be winding down. Or maybe they just ran out of food and alcohol. Natsu and the others followed as well, and after a threat from Reborn, the Varia finally started making their way in.

The noise seemed to die down even further as soon as the Varia and Reborn entered, and even those who were drunk were able to sense the aura they commanded. Tension rose a little bit, everyone looking wary of the new people, and Tsuna only ducked his head, sensing the impending trouble that he would encounter for the next who knows how long.

Makarov made his way up to the stage after whispering something to Mirajane – who ran off with a nod – as did Reborn, and surprisingly, even Xanxus. The others dispersed to different tables separating into their small groups again, Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto joining the other guardians. All attention was now aimed at the stage, where Makarov stood with a calm expression on his face, Reborn had his usual smirk, and Xanxus looked ready to maim and torture every person within a five-mile radius.

"Well, though unexpected, it seems that we have some new guests joining us. They're friends of Ts-"

"VOOIIII! We're not friends wi-" Squalo started to protest from his table, only to have his head slammed into said furniture piece by Lussuria, who gave reassuring smile up to Makarov to continue.

"Erm, they're acquaintances, of Tsuna and his friends," Makarov finished awkwardly.

"Chaos, I'm Reborn, Dame-Tsuna's home tutor."

"Tch, Xanxus, but don't fucking bother me, unless you want to get killed, trash," Xanxus growled out angrily, arms crossed.

"Anyways, while they won't be officially joining Fairy Tail, they will be staying here. So please make them feel welcome," Makarov finished, though somehow he doubted that they would need others to let them feel welcome. Reborn at that moment took the chance to step forward.

"I've come up with an event, by the way, that will involve everyone here. And again Squalo, that includes you. I swear you're going to be bald overnight if I hear you complain one more time," Reborn added with another glare at the swordsman.

"We'll be holding a tournament to see who's the strongest out of all groups here combined."

As if on cue, Mirajane suddenly appeared with a smile, dragging along a huge board that was clearly set up like a tournament layout would be. Alongside it was a glass bowl filled with slips of paper, and Reborn suddenly added a handful, before Mirajane mixed them in.

"The results are random, so don't complain no matter who you get paired up with," Reborn announced with a smirk, eyes gleaming, and everyone couldn't help but shudder. At this point, Fairy Tail was too shocked to even question why a stranger was suddenly announcing a tournament like this.

Still with her ever-present smile, Mirajane pulled out two slips of paper, before the board suddenly started writing on itself, while she continued. Within a few minutes, every paper had been pulled, and she stepped back to let everyone see the results.

Scanning through the long list, quite a few people couldn't but feel a bit of panic at the pair-ups, but many cheered in excitement, the noise growing again, while Mirajane happily announced the names, reaching the ones that Tsuna knew after a bit.

"The bomber, Gokudera Hayato, will be facing off against the fire dragon slayer, Natsu Dragneel!"

Gokudera's eyes widened a bit, before clicking his tongue and looking away a bit. Natsu meanwhile was grinning, obviously eager to go up against the silver haired teen.

"The sky dragon slayer, Wendy Marvell, will be against our bookworm, Levy McGarden!"

The two blue haired girls exchanged smiles with each other.

"Ice mage Gray Fullbuster is against one of the new arrivals, Lussuria!"

Blinking, Gray glanced over at the table where the Varia was at, only to meet eyes with Lussuria. The man gave a rather creepy smile to Gray, who visibly stiffened up and seemed to turn to stone, even after the sun user turned away.

"Ryohei Sasagawa, an extreme boxer, is against another new arrival, Mammon!"

Being the typical Ryohei, he pounced the air while yelling, making everyone else cringe, while Mammon just looked irritated at having to face him of all people.

"The woman with the highest alcohol tolerance possible, Cana Alberona, will face off against the shy Chrome Dokuro!"

Chrome flushed a bit, looking down slightly, while Cana only glanced in her direction, before turning back to the board.

"Juvia Lockser, the water user, is up with the new arrival Fran!"

Tsuna blinked a bit at that, not knowing who Juvia was, and looked around for someone reacting to the name, but didn't see anyone. Fran meanwhile just sat there like nothing happened.

"Our celestial mage and one of the newer members here, Lucy Hearfilia is against Belphegor, another newcomer!"

Bel laughed like usual, fiddling around with a knife in hand and occasionally throwing one into Fran's hat. Lucy couldn't but pale slightly at the sight, and froze much like Gray.

"The last of the new arrivals will be against each other for the first round, Squalo and Leviathan!"

Squalo growled in annoyance at having to fight Levi, while the later just started a chant about not disappointing boss, resulting in some people outside of the Varia to slowly back away from him and the weird aura starting to surround the man.

"Next will be my sister, Lisanna Strauss against the deceptive Rokudo Mukuro!"

The white haired girl blinked, before smiling determinedly, while Mukuro only chuckled.

"Yamamoto Takeshi, a sword wielder, will be against one of our tops, Erza Scarlet, also a sword user!"

Yamamoto grinned, as Erza smiled slightly, both anxious to test each other's skills after having fought together.

"For the second last group, we have our own Elfman Strauss against the solitary Hibari Kyoya!"

Dead silence fell after that announcement, and Tsuna could feel the killing intent coming off of Hibari from where he stood at the back of guild, a glare directed at Elfman who only yelled something about men. The loud man definitely wasn't a good match up for Hibari. Coughing to break the awkward tension, Mirajane announced the last pair.

"The last group of the first round will be the iron dragon slayer, Gajeel Redfox, up against our surprisingly powerful friend, Tsunayoshi Sawada!"

Tsuna blinked in surprise at the call, not expecting to get pitted against the iron user, but shivered a bit at remembering how scary the man could be when he chose. Gajeel meanwhile grinned. He had seen Tsuna's fighting skills through the screen back at Blood Moon, but couldn't help but want to see them firsthand. Finished with the announcing, Reborn stepped forwards again.

"Unlike most tournaments, the battle pair ups after each set of rounds will be random, rather than having people face off against the winner next to them. There aren't very many rules in this tournament, beyond no killing or maiming your opponent, and no help from another human. The tournament will be starting at 10 tomorrow, behind the guild. Beyond that, this is an all out battle to determine your strength and position among others, so go at it with your dying will," Reborn finished, a smirk on his face, as cheers and chatter broke out from around the building. Tsuna couldn't help but groan, and wondered what Reborn was plotting. After all, if you're dealing with Reborn, there was definitely no way that this was going to be a normal tournament.

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><p>Soon after the conversations regarding the new tournament had died down, many of the guild members left, no doubt to prepare for their battle and come up with a plan against their opponent. This included Erza, Wendy, and Lucy. Xanxus and the Varia had all but taken over one of the floors of the guilds, though Tsuna personally thought it was best. He really didn't want everyone to get killed if someone said one wrong thing. Reborn meanwhile, had dragged him over to another table away from the guardians, and instantly started asking more questions about what had happened, mainly regarding the Serato, occasionally nodding. Finally, the hitman seemed satisfied, and Tsuna couldn't help but throw in his own questions.<p>

"By the way, Reborn, how come you're an adult suddenly? Mammon, too. Did you hit yourself with the ten year bazooka twice or something?"

"Hmph, Dame-Tsuna. You really don't know much about the Arcobaleno, do you?"

"How could I? You refuse to ever talk about it, so it's not like I've been given much of a chance to find out!" Tsuna exclaimed, exasperated, while Reborn in reply smirked, but fell into thought, seeming to be contemplating something. Tsuna just gave him a curious look, and it wasn't until a minute later that Reborn said something that shocked Tsuna.

"Fine. I'll give you a quick run down. But don't expect me to repeat myself again. If you tell anyone else, I'll make sure that your life is even worse than it is now, even if the person is Yamamoto," Reborn threatened, and Tsuna gulped, knowing the hitman wouldn't hesitate to follow through. Vaguely, he also remembered that Reborn had told Yamamoto the Arcobaleno secret while they were in the future as well.

Leon suddenly shifted into a large dome that easily settled around the whole table, blocking everything out, as it was a solid green colour. Instantly, Tsuna noticed the lack of sound from outside; even Ryohei's and Elfman's yelling vanished. He supposed it was to prevent eavesdropping.

"Well, what do you know so far about the Arcobaleno?"

"Only that they're the seven strongest infants in the mafia, though they each seem to have their own skill set they're proficient in. The Arcobaleno also seem to be under a curse as far as I can tell."

"Hnn, correct. None of us knew what was going to happen to us, or that we were going to be turned into the Arcobaleno. The man who had gathered all of us had sent us on what was supposed to be our last mission, also the one where Colonello tagged along. What happened though was that we had the curse inflicted on us, without even having been told once or warned about it. In other words, we were tricked," Reborn's expression at this point was dangerous, the loathe he felt for the man behind everything obvious.

"We have all of our memories and everything from before the curse, and retained our abilities, even if they were greatly powered down. As far as we can tell, we don't seem to be aging, either. But the main thing the curse did was turn us into infants."

At that Tsuna's eyes widened.

"W-wait, you don't mean that you and everyone el-"

"Dame-Tsuna, it's not that hard to figure out. Me, Colonello, Fong, Mammon, Verde, Skull, Lal Mirch, and Luce were originally adults. The 'us' that you met were the cursed versions, so we look like infants. You didn't honestly think it was possible for any baby to walk, talk, and fight like any other adult, did you?"

The last bit was added in an amused tone, and Tsuna nearly smacked himself for being so dense. Of course he had thought so, but then again, he had fire's lighting on his forehead and people creating illusions after having gone through hell six times, so he didn't question it, and eventually grew used to it. Still, finding out that Reborn was really an adult was quite a shock.

"Well, that all makes sense, but why are you and Mammon adults again, Reborn? You still have the Arcobaleno pacifier after all."

"It's probably because of the dimension jump. The 73 doesn't exist in this world, so the pacifiers aren't needed to establish balance. Thus, us Arcobaleno aren't needed to protect them with our lives, since even if they were destroyed, it wouldn't affect anything until we returned. The curse probably doesn't register right because of this, so therefore, it's been broken and returned us to our original forms while we're here," Reborn finished, a look of thought on his face. Tsuna remained silent for a bit, thinking everything over, before absently nodding.

"I guess I get it. So you'll always be an adult while you're here then, along with Mammon?"

"Most likely, yes."

"Well, that's good. Even if it's for a bit, you at least get to be in your original body," Tsuna said cheerfully, a smile on his face, but Reborn only frowned. Standing up, he lightly hit Tsuna on the head.

"Don't worry about me or Mammon. We've gotten used to our curse and have accepted it by now. And don't smile when you don't mean it, Tsuna. It unsettles me. I'd rather see you sad then trying to be cheerful for others," Reborn suddenly said, and Leon shrunk down to his original form again as he finished, landing neatly on the man's fedora.

Reborn paused slightly, seeing as to how Gokudera, Ryohei, Yamamoto, Natsu, and Gray were all standing right in front of him, no doubt having been inspecting the shield Leon had made. However, he just shook his head, brushing past them, as he headed towards Mirajane and Makarov.

Tsuna meanwhile, only stared after him with wide eyes, not expecting Reborn to see through him so easily. Then again, this was Reborn he was talking about. Blinking, he realized that the others were giving him questioning looks, yet he in return just gave them a small smile before standing up and heading towards the entrance of the guild. His mind was currently full of thoughts about what Reborn had said, and all the implications it meant. He was taking a walk to try and clear his head a bit.

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><p>Walking through the streets, Tsuna realized that Magnolia really was different from Namimori, and couldn't help but stare as he passed by some shop stalls set up in more popular areas. Sighing, he came out from a small alley onto a street that ran alongside a river, some men rowing along it. Walking over to the edge of the bank, he carefully sat down, legs dangling a few feet away from the water's edge.<p>

His mind turned over everything Reborn said some more. The information was a lot to wrap his mind over, and not so much quantity as it was the weight of the situation. He could only imagine what it would be like to suddenly be turned into an infant, especially having everyone talking to you like you were a baby and thinking you incapable of doing things. Blinking, Tsuna realized that he had done the exact same thing to Reborn numerous times. He couldn't help but feel a small pit of guilt grow, realizing how frustrating it must be for Reborn.

"Eh? Tsuna?"

The voice broke Tsuna out of his thoughts, and he jumped, nearly losing his balance and falling into the river, but a hand had swiftly grasped his shoulder, pulling him further back onto the concrete. Blinking, he raised his head to see Lucy standing above him, giving him an odd look. Beside her stood some weird white thing that was constantly shivering. It raised its hand as if in greeting, but Tsuna opted to not reply.

"Ah, Lucy! What are you doing here?" Tsuna exclaimed in surprise, while the blonde girl just smiled at him, and pointed behind her towards one of the houses.

"I live here, actually, so I should be the one asking what you're doing here," she replied with a laugh, and Tsuna blinked in surprise.

"Eh? Really?" Tsuna asked, while Lucy sat down beside him, swinging her legs a bit. The white thing, perhaps a weird dog, was pulled onto her lap, and she hugged it absentmindedly.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"I just kind of ended up here. I have a bit on my mind, so I was wandering around town a bit," Tsuna eventually admitted, looking down at the river as it lazily lapped against the stone bank.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Nothing really. It's just something a person close to me said. He assured me that I shouldn't worry, but I can't help but do so," Tsuna sighed, a look of worry crossing his face, while Lucy hummed in reply.

"Well, if there isn't anything you can do about it, then you shouldn't worry. From the sounds of it, he doesn't want you to, and probably can face it on his own. You should just keep smiling and supporting him as much as you can, right?"

Tsuna blinked in surprise at the answer, and lapsed into silence again. Lucy really was right though. Reborn wouldn't want Tsuna's pity or worry. The hitman wasn't weak either, and when he says that he's accepted it and is fine, he probably was. Looking over at the celestial mage, he smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Lucy. That's really helped clear my mind."

"No problem, Tsuna."

Lucy stood up, grabbing Tsuna's hand and helping the smaller boy onto to his feet while making sure he didn't fall into the river.

"A-ah, I should probably head back to the guild though. I need to make sure Gokudera and the others don't blow up the place, especially now that the Varia are here," Tsuna said, stuttering a little bit while Lucy only nodded in understanding.

"That's probably a good idea. Feel free to visit my house though. If I'm not at the guild, chances are that I'm here," she replied, and Tsuna smiled.

"Thanks, Lucy. See you tomorrow then! And don't worry too much about Bel. I don't think he'll go overboard. That much…" Tsuna trailed off with a nervous laugh, before waving quickly and breaking into a light jog back to the guild. It broke into a run though as he heard an explosion go off. Really, couldn't he leave them alone for even an hour?

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><p>(1) Remember way back in chapter 5? When Tsuna took off his sweater so Loki and Gray could look at his arm wound? Yeah, Yamamoto's referring to that. Apparently someone grabbed the sweater and brought it back to the guild before the whole rescue in Blood Moon. I wasn't very clear about that detail. In fact, most of the clothing details have been vague… OTL<p>

A/N: Well, that's the end of the chapter. Still pretty short at 3909 words... Well, how are the battle pair-ups? I actually used an online hat draw to decide them, with only slight manipulation from me when the battles seemed unfair or wouldn't be very good. Since I seriously doubt that Gokudera would have put up a fight at all against Tsuna. ._. Anyways, again, thank you to all who reviewed, favourited, and alerted this story! And another request for opinions on pairings! 'Till next chapter though, ciao!


	23. Gathering

A/N: Again, another slow update. I'm sorry. OTL A poll has been put up, by the way!

icefox94: Haha, I'm quite looking forwards to writing Lucy and Bel's fight. Though I'm still not sure who should win. ._. Eh, I'll figure something out. ^^' And it's fine, I'm just happy I'm able to make people fangirl. xD Ah, and I'll be seeing about adding in the characters. :3

BrokenBlackCat: I'm glad the fights are good. -w- Erza and Yamamoto's fight is definitely going to be interesting, and yes, I do pity poor Elfman. xD

VongolaHermit: Ah, yeah, Hibari's fight will be quite one-sided most likely, but I'll try to find something to make it a bit interesting. ^^' And thanks for the pairing suggestion!

Il Vietato Cielo: Sorry about the no fight, but I don't want to completely rush this. ^^' And I'll be seeing about adding in Laxus, it is a battle I've been wondering how it would go. :3

OBSERVER01: Ah, thanks! And I'll definitely consider the pairings!

Syrlai: Haha, glad to know the pairings weren't a fail. ^^ Lussuria and Gray will definitely be interesting though. Ah, and thanks, I wasn't completely sure if Reborn's explanation would work or not, but it seems it did. Well, if any pairings come to mind, feel free to suggest! I'll probably be putting up a poll. :3

TatsuyaGoldWolf123: Ah, thank you for the suggestion, though I didn't completely go through with it. I think Gray's too creeped out by Lussuria to spy on him. ._.

Yuugano Yumi: Sorry about the lateness! Feel free to yell at me. OTL

mastergamer14: Ah, the Varia against Thunder God tribe would be extremely interesting, and as it is, I've been considering putting Laxus for a fight between him and Xanxus, so I'll see. And I'll consider the pairing! I'll look out for your story as well. ^^

TheRebelMage: Glad to know I've interested you. ^^ And of course there will be chaos, when is there not? xD

Tsunaswordrainguardian1: Ah, thanks! And I'm not too confident on Jet and Droy's characters, or how their fighting styles are, so I would have butchered them which is why they aren't included. OTL And sorry about the Cana one, I feel like I may be failing her character as well… Ah, but I'll try at least. ^^

The Mouse Maestro: Haha, I'm happy that I'm able to get the interactions and whatnot good enough to make it seem like the two series are one and the same, really! ^^ And thanks for the luck. :3

Aira-Chama: Glad to know it's so interesting. And please don't forget studying because of me! I don't want you to fail. ;A; And it's fine that you didn't review the other chapters, it's a good sign in this case anyways. xD And yes, Reborn is extremely awesome and sexy. -w- And I think the main ones I'm considering for pairings are indeed Erza or Lucy with Tsuna. In all honesty, this was actually planned out as a yaoi story at first, with all of Mukuro's usual perverseness and Hibari's possessiveness. I chickened out though. OTL Anyways, I'm fairly confident that the pairings are going to boyxgirl right now. :3 And I hope the tournament will be interesting! But then again, if Reborn's here, how can it not be?

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><p>AN: Ah, and I have a new poll up for the pairings! Please vote!

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><p>It turns out that Belphegor had come downstairs, beginning to tease the guardians. Of course, Gokudera immediately responded by pulling out his dynamite, and thus a fight had broken out between them, though Bel was more over just dodging the explosions and laughing.<p>

Tsuna had immediately tried to calm down Gokudera, only just managing as Bel insisted on continuing his teasing. They were saved though when Lussuria had come down and brought Bel back up, saying something about sharpening his knives for tomorrow from what they could hear.

Sighing, Tsuna sat down at one of the tables in the nearly empty guild, rather tired. He raised his head though as Mirajane walked over, a familiar stamping tool in hand.

"Tsuna, we still need to get your friends registered in the guild officially. I wanted to do the same with the Varia, I think they were called, but Reborn said not to bother as they would never agree," Mirajane said with a smile, and Tsuna shuddered at the thought of trying to get people like Xanxus and Squalo to join in a guild.

"Ah, sure, though you don't really need to ask me…"

He glanced at his own orange symbol in the middle of his lower right arm, smiling a bit.

"Hm? Are the others getting these as well?"

Tsuna glanced up to see Yamamoto standing there, pointing to his own blue one on his upper right arm, a bit lower than Natsu's, before nodding, while Gokudera came up, rubbing his red one on the right side of his neck.

"Tch, good luck with that," was all he said, but Mirajane merely kept smiling, before moving towards the table where Ryohei was at, Chrome and Mukuro on the far side away from him. Ryohei broke out of his conversation with Elfman as Mirajane approached, blinking.

"We need to give you the Fairy Tail guild symbol to mark you as a member, Ryohei. Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto got theirs when they first arrived. We just couldn't give you your own what with the recent events," Mira explained.

"EXTREME! I'll EXTREMELY accept the mark then!" he yelled enthusiastically, before simply ripping off his left sleeve to let Mirajane stamp his shoulder. She pressed the stamp to it for a few seconds, before lifting it, and a yellow symbol appeared with a small flash as Ryohei started yelling extreme again, accompanied by Elfman's own shouts.

Ignoring the two loud people, she shifted over to the other side of table, where Chrome and Mukuro were watching with slight amusement.

"I'll also need to stamp you two, as well."

Mukuro laughed again, before pulling down the collar of his shirt a bit.

"Kufufufu, as much as I dislike being anymore involved with Sawada Tsunayoshi, I'll agree this one time if it means I can keep close to Chrome and my target," he agreed, and Mirajane stamped his left collarbone, an indigo sign showing up. Chrome herself held out her left hand, a matching indigo mark appearing on it. Mirajane smiled, before walking over to where Hibari stood.

He opened his eyes as she approached, his usual glaring look on his face while Hibird chirped a bit.

"I'm not getting associated with the herbivore more than I am, especially when the others are part as well," he growled out.

"But Hibari, you won't be able to participate in the tournament without the mark."

"Hmph, doesn't matter to me. I can bite the herbivores to death whenever I want," he responded, while Mirajane just frowned a bit.

"Actually, not really. You'll cause an uproar in the guild, everyone breaking into fights and yelling as things are tossed around, and in no way can you have a serious match," she replied, and Hibari seemed to freeze at that. The thought of the already noisy guild getting even louder and more disorganized didn't bode well for him. Glaring at Mirajane a bit, he undid a few buttons of his white shirt, before letting it slip low enough to expose his shoulder blades.

"The right one."

With a small smile, Mirajane pushed the stamp against the designated area, a deep purple symbol showing up. The prefect easily put his shirt back in place, hanging his jacket over his shoulders again as he lent against the wall, back to his previous position.

Tsuna blinked in shock that Hibari, of all people, would actually agree, as if Mukuro wasn't surprising enough. Still he shook his head to clear it, deciding not to dwell on it. Mirajane was walking back when Reborn decided to speak up.

"I'd like to request a guild marking as well, Mirajane."

Tsuna's brain stopped working at that point. First Mukuro, then Hibari, and now Reborn was willingly asking for a mark?

"It will help me keep an eye on you, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn added, reading Tsuna's thoughts, and he chuckled when a resounding slam sounded as Tsuna hit his head against the wooden table in front of him. Mirajane blinked in surprise, before looking over at Makarov who nodded in approval.

"Well then, Reborn, if you would please tell me where you want it," she replied with a smile, while Reborn just smirked and offered his right hand to her.

"This will work fine," he said, as Mira nodded and stamped his hand. A golden yellow mark appeared on it, and Reborn withdrew again, chuckling lightly as Leon crawled down to see the new mark on his master's skin.

Done, Mirajane went off to put back the stamp to wherever they kept it, while Tsuna merely groaned, dreading his tutor's presence more and more, and couldn't help but wonder what the sadistic hitman had planned.

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><p>Lucy stretched, yawning, and blinked her eyes wearily. Glancing over at her clock, the time read 7:30. Rubbing her eyes to get some of the sand out, she slid out of bed, stretching again as she slowly walked towards her bathroom to get ready for the morning.<p>

45 minutes later, Lucy had taken a quick wake up shower, gotten her hair ready and dressed in her white shirt and blue skirt. Grabbing her key belt and putting it on securely, she double-checked to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything as she headed out of her house and began walking to the guild.

Reaching the building 15 minutes later, having walked rather slowly and taken her time, she reached the familiar building. Stepping inside, she was slightly surprised to see the guild rather full, as usually it was devoid of life for the first however long as everyone slept in. Smiling, she spotted Erza, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Natsu, and Gray all gathered around, talking about something or other, and headed over.

"Good morning, guys!" she greeted, and they stopped to look over at her, returning the greeting.

"Hey, Lucy! Excited for the tournament?" Natsu asked, grinning, and Lucy shot him a hopeless look. Who would be excited when they had to face someone like Belphegor anyways?

"I'm kind of nervous for today, actually. Levy can be pretty strong when she wants to be," Wendy admitted, scratching her head a little while Carla just shot her a slightly worried look.

"It's fine, Wendy. Even I'm slightly nervous. Though I must agree with Natsu that I'm excited at the same time. Yamamoto is surely a strong opponent and swordsman, I look forwards to the match," Erza added, smiling slightly at the thought of challenging the cheerful Japanese teen.

"I don't see what you're all cheerful about," Gray grumbled, shuddering slightly as he remembered Lussuria. Honestly, the man was as creepy as Master Bob over at Blue Pegasus, perhaps even more so.

"What, are you scared, ice brain?" Natsu taunted, and Gray immediately retaliated.

"Who's scared, you idiot?" he snarled, and they both started swapping insults back and forth, glaring.

"Natsu… Gray…"

The sudden ominous voice coming from Erza immediately halted them though, and they laughed nervously, rubbing the backs of their heads as they avoided eye contact with her. The tension was broken though by a cheerful laugh.

"Haha, seems like everyone's already up and about, eh?" Yamamoto grinned, while Gokudera just scowled lightly, as per usual.

"Tch, stupid Baseball-freak…" he mumbled, but let out an indignant growl as Yamamoto slung an arm around his shoulder.

"Aw, you hurt my feelings, Gokudera," Yamamoto mock pouted, while Gokudera started yelling curses at him, the taller teen merely laughing it off as he took a step back, putting his hands up in a defensive gesture though his smile was still intact.

"Hey, where's Tsuna?" Lucy spoke up, and the two teens stopped their bickering to look at her, before paling slightly.

"Say, Gokudera, wasn't Reborn heading towards Tsuna just now?" Yamamoto slowly asked, and the silver haired bomber nodded just as slowly.

"Yeah, to wake Juudaime up…"

They paused for a moment, before suddenly turning around and running in the direction of where they were staying. Lucy and the others blinked in confusion, before running after them. Opening the door, they were just in time to see Reborn smirking as he swung a larger green hammer at Tsuna, landing the blow to his head. The brunette let out a surprised sound as he woke up, but was flung off the bed, colliding into an unsuspecting Natsu.

The force knocked Natsu back as he fell to the ground, Tsuna landing on top of him with a groan. Just as Lucy was about to go over and make sure they were okay though, Tsuna sat up swiftly, sending a glare at Reborn.

"Reborn! What was that for? Honestly, it was even harsher than it usually is. Ow, that really hurts…" Tsuna yelled, before grasping his head in pain. Wendy blinked her eyes in surprise, as most people would not be able to act so normally after being dealt a blow to their head like that and then rammed into another person.

"Urgh, Tsuna, mind moving?" Natsu asked from underneath the brunette, who blinked in confusion before glancing down.

"Ahh! Sorry, Natsu! Really! A-are you okay? Mou, Reborn! You're even hurting other people!" Tsuna accused, moving and helping Natsu up.

"His fault for not paying attention and failing to dodge something as simple as that. If you can dodge bullets, he should be able to dodge you, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn replied easily.

"And it's your own fault for not waking up when I tried by calling your name," he added, a small glimmer of amusement in his eye. Tsuna growled lightly, but sighed, letting it go as he just rubbed his head, a small headache having formed.

"W-wait, dodge bullets? You mean you shoot bullets at Tsuna?" Gray asked incredulously, while Reborn just shrugged.

"I shoot bullets at him, send hoards of bees or other insects to chase him, throw grenades, plant bombs around his room, set them off if he fails to answer a question correctly or disturbs my sleep, kick him in the head, twist his arm, and hit him repeatedly with a one-ton hammer, just to list a few," he answered with a smirk, while Tsuna just started muttering about demon tutors and their spartan training. The Fairy Tail members meanwhile, could only gawk. How did the scrawny brunette survive a life like that?

"Ahaha, seems we were a bit late, eh, Gokudera?" Yamamoto laughed, while Gokudera just growled an insult as Tsuna went about getting a change of clothes, choosing some beige shorts and a plain black shirt.

Still grumbling a bit, he walked past the stunned Fairy Tail members and took a seat at the table where the rest of the guardians were, all of them being rather early risers, and was soon joined by Gokudera and Yamamoto.

The group snapped out of it though as Reborn walked by with a low chuckle, smirking like usual as he tilted his fedora down slightly. Soon, he had exited the room, leaving them by themselves.

"When Tsuna was talking about having a sadistic spartan tutor, I didn't think it was as bad as he made it sound…" Lucy eventually got out, the others just nodding, before mindlessly shuffling out into the guild, sitting down at a table together. In the end, some of the other members took to trying to talk to them, or poking them, as they remained unresponsive and completely lost in thought and wondering about the horrors the poor brunette has probably faced.

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><p>Reborn checked the time, seeing that it was already 9:45. By now, the Fairy Tail crew was up and about normally, having gotten over the surprise at the treatment, or moreover tutoring, he gave Tsuna. Chuckling slightly, he raised his head when he heard foot steps entering the guild, and spotted Makarov along with a man with long green hair tied at the bottom, wearing a long red coat, black pants, white boots, and had a sword hanging at his side.<p>

As the rest of the guild noticed their presence, the noise died down slowly, as they turned to face the duo, though mainly Makarov.

"The tournament is nearly ready, so everyone please come out to the back," Makarov announced, before moving off along with Freed. Lucy and the others glanced at each other, before getting up and shuffling out of the guild with all the other members. Tsuna and crew followed the mass outside as well.

Hibari, Mukuro, Chrome, and Reborn meanwhile waited for the mass of people to exit, before also leaving, and the Varia came down just as they exited, Fran having alerted them that everyone was heading out.

* * *

><p>Tsuna blinked in surprise as he arrived at the area, not expecting what he saw. The stone ground had been engraved, odd purple text that he couldn't read flashing through the lines, and the occasional stream going up an indefinite amount before fading. The lines covered almost the entire area, including parts of the roof from Fairy Tail and a bit of the ocean and cliffs, leaving an extremely large battlefield.<p>

"Ahh, I see they had Freed set out his runes," Levy commented, and Tsuna gave her a confused look.

"Runes?"

"You don't know what those are? Well, it's a form of magic, one that Freed – the guy with the green hair that was with Makarov – specializes in. In this case, it will keep the bystanders out of the battle area, and the battlers inside of it. It probably acts as a shield as well, so any attacks that miss won't hit those watching. This way, nothing bad happens, and forces from the outside don't have to be worried about. The rules that have been set are probably written in there as well, so if one's about to be broken the runes can take measures to stop it," Levy explained, Tsuna blinking in surprise at the complexity of everything. He turned his attention back to Makarov though, who seemed ready to speak. Xanxus and Reborn were already standing beside him, and Freed looked like he was double-checking his runes, adding more of the purple text with his sword.

"Well, the tournament will be starting soon. As Reborn has said, there will no rules beyond no killing, maiming, and no outside help. Beyond that, anything is fair. Freed's runes will be enforcing these rules of course. There's also a special addition being applied here."

At this point, Reborn stepped forwards, one eye showing as he smirked.

"Now, a regular tournament would be too boring, so we'll be adding in some things to make it more interesting. 10 minutes after the battle has started, if it isn't finished, then we'll be adding in these."

On cue, several explosions erupted over the battle arena, causing some people to pale.

"They're set up in random areas. If you get too close, they'll explode, so you might want to be a bit careful after those 10 minutes are up. Finally, the top four people at the end will form teams of two, and face off against each other in a cooperative battle. And the winning team," Reborn trailed off slightly, raising his fedora up a bit as he glanced over the crowd.

"Get to battle both me and Xanxus together," he finished. Exited yells, murmurs, and cheers broke out through the crowd, while Tsuna just stood there, pale.

_Adult Reborn _and_ ten year older Xanxus? At the same time? Hiieee! They're going to kill us!_

While Tsuna was inwardly crying and ranting about how they were going to die, Natsu just grinned, slapping one hand over his bicep while his fist lit up.

"I'm all fired up," he smirked.

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><p>AN: Gah, so short! Shortest one yet actually at 3427 words. OTL *sighs* Well, I found it to be the best cut off spot, so, yeah. ^^' Well, I hope that you enjoyed it either way. And they finally get to find out about Reborn's sadism and spartan training. xD Well, the battles finally get to start next chapter. :3 Ah, and Happy Canada Day to all other Canadians out there. -w- And a wild poll has appeared! Would you like to use vote? It's super effective! …what did I just type? Anyways, 'till next chapter, ciao~!


	24. Dragons vs Storms

A/N: First off, I'm really sorry for the late update! The whole week has been hectic. But I was finally able to get my room back! My sister's been using it, since hers was filled with stuff so you could barely even get in. So I've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for the past 2 and a half years. ^^' We finally got everything cleaned up though, which took away a few days, and my sister keeps using the computer because hers is broken. OTL Urgh, anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please don't kill me for the slow update! ;x;

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><p>"Without further delay, we'll be starting the tournament now!" Mirajane announced with a winged microphone, and having pulled out board from yesterday, pointed to the first match. The two people chosen headed into the battle arena, a small flash of purple accompanying them as the passed over the rune lines. Tsuna just groaned mentally, and hoped that he wouldn't have to face both Reborn and Xanxus.<p>

Four hours had passed since the start of the tournament, and Tsuna had to admit he was rather surprised at how fast everyone was trying to end the battles. But then again, with the mines going off after ten minutes, maybe it wasn't so surprising. So far a little under half of the battles had reached the ten minute time limit, and usually the fight ended rather quickly after that.

Loud cheers came from everyone around him, and most of the guild had already finished their matches, leaving what Tsuna thought to be the strongest members at the end. Somehow he figured Reborn had something to do with that. People had been coming and going throughout the tournament, but nearly the whole guild appeared to have returned for the final matches. Sighing, Tsuna glanced over at the board to see the loser's name get crossed out by a floating piece of chalk. Looking over to the next names on the list, Tsuna blinked in surprise.

As the last two members joined the crowd again, the microphone returned to Mira, who smiled as she read the names off the board.

"The next battle is definitely going to be exiting, since it's Gokudera Hayato against Natsu Dragneel!"

Cheers burst out again as many people shifted to try and find better viewings of the arena, eager for the first fight with Tsuna's group, and against Natsu of all people. Beside Tsuna, Gokudera was grinning, before he turned to Tsuna and bowed.

"Don't worry, Juudaime! I'll definitely win and prove my worth as your right hand man!"

Sweat dropping, Tsuna just laughed awkwardly.

"It's alright, Gokudera-kun. Just try your best in the fight," he smiled, and Gokudera blinked, before bowing repeatedly.

"Thank you so much, Juudaime! You're far to kind!"

Tsuna was at a loss of what to do as Gokudera continued ranting, but Yamamoto helped him out luckily.

"Maa maa, Gokudera. You should get to the battle now, Natsu's already waiting there," he grinned, and Gokudera only glared at him, before turning back to Tsuna.

"I'll be going then, Juudaime," he muttered, before leaving as Tsuna and Yamamoto called out good lucks to him.

Unfortunately though, while they had been talking, everyone had already found good positions to watch, and being short, Tsuna couldn't see a thing past their head. However, he suddenly felt something wrap around his chest, before he was lifted into the air with a yelp of surprise. Yamamoto laughed, and glancing over, Tsuna saw him also being lifted, by… Happy? Looking behind him, Tsuna saw Carla carrying him with her tail.

"Eh? Carla? Happy?"

"Tsuna! We've been looking for you for a while. You were so short we couldn't find you in the crowd until you left it!" Happy exclaimed, and Tsuna could feel the blow to his pride. It wasn't his fault he was so short!

"At least your height makes you light. I wouldn't bother to carry you otherwise," Carla added, and Tsuna just hoped that she didn't suddenly decide that he was too heavy. Blinking, he realized that they were being carried over to the roof, and saw Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Gajeel, and Pantherlily all sitting there, Lucy waving at them. Actually, he even saw Chrome, Mukuro, and Ryohei there, Hibari a few meters away, and away was the Varia.

Quickly reaching the group, Carla dropped Tsuna unceremoniously on the building, the roof area that they choose being a flat part that was off to the side of the main pillar, and a few meters away from the rune lines. Happy let Yamamoto down more gently, and the sword user just laughed cheerfully before pulling Tsuna to his feet. Happy nodded quickly to them, before turning around and speeding down towards Natsu.

"It's good to know that we found you guys in time for the good battles," Gray commented, and Tsuna just rubbed his head sheepishly as he and Yamamoto joined the others, sitting down at the edge with them. Blinking, Tsuna saw that they really had a great view of the battle area, though he hoped it didn't come over to the roof, even if there were protective runes placed there.

"Haha, I'm surprised that everyone is here," Yamamoto responded, and the others just shrugged.

"We just somehow eventually gathered together in this spot," was Lucy's only response, before turning to look at Gokudera and Natsu, who were getting ready to start.

* * *

><p>Gokudera stepped past the runes, ignoring the purple gleam as he did so. Heading into the center, he regarded Natsu across from him. Luckily he had gotten a chance to see Natsu's fighting skills and quite a few of his moves, but he figured that someone like the dragon slayer would be quite unpredictable.<p>

Natsu meanwhile was grinning in anticipation, wondering what kind of moves the bomber had, as he had only seem him activate the Vongola Gear, not actually use it. Blinking, he glanced up as Happy quickly flew to his side, and gave him a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to his enemy.

"The battle between Gokudera and Natsu will start in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Go!" Mirajane yelled, and instantly Gokudera's belt buckle flashed. Soon he donned the familiar gear, his glasses quickly analyzing the weather, magnetic fields, and gravity of the surrounding area.

Natsu meanwhile had already lit flames on his fists again, as Happy grabbed onto him to charge forwards. Gokudera regarded Natsu as the male dashed forwards, and jumped out of the way just as he passed him. Quickly, he lit four bombs with his igniter, before throwing them towards Natsu just as he turned. Happy quickly flapped his wings to shoot upwards, avoiding the blast. Without missing a beat, Gokudera launched more dynamite into the air, but Natsu quickly countered as he clasped his hands in front of his mouth, a magic circle appearing in front of him.

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouted, and the usual flames burst forwards. The dynamite instantly exploded when the fire hit them, protecting Natsu from the attack, and Gokudera cursed.

"System C.A.I.!"

Instantly, the bone shields materialized, storm flames blazing as they blocked the attack, Gokudera moving back to avoid the waves of heat from the fire.

"Heh, pretty good, Dragon-breath," Gokudera smirked, and Natsu grinned back.

"I can say the same, Gokudera."

Gokudera just clicked his tongue, before throwing another bomb at his feet. Natsu blinked in shock, but instead of exploding, smoke filled the area, obscuring all sight of the silver haired bomber.

"Natsu! Behind you!" Happy yelled as he spun Natsu around, and the fire mage blinked in shock at the bombs aimed right at him.

"Drop!" Natsu commanded, and Happy let go of him, shooting up as Natsu fell to avoid the bombs. He landed neatly on the ground, but to his surprise the dynamite turned in mid-air, aiming at him again as they seemed to speed up.

"Wha-!" Natsu started, but was cut-off as the bombs hit their mark, resulting in a large explosion.

"Rocket bomb, version X," Gokudera said calmly as the smoke from around him was blown away by the explosion. The dust settled around Natsu, showing him to have a few burn marks from the bombs.

"Tch, pretty good.," he mumbled, but quickly sped forwards, fist lighting up as Gokudera started to dodge the multiple punches being thrown at him.

"But your weakness is close combat battling!" he declared, sending another punch at Gokudera, who ducked to avoid the hit.

"Not quite," he smirked, before sending back a punch of his own. Natsu jerked backwards, a bit startled.

"Eh, you know how to fight with your hands as well?"

"Of course! I couldn't be Juudaime's right hand man if I couldn't fight without my dynamite," Gokudera replied, before focusing on the fight.

Those who were watching the fight stared in surprise at the swift blows exchanged, Gokudera proving rather adept at hand-to-hand combat. Soon though, it was evident that the bomber was still inferior, as a solid punch was landed on his jaw.

He stumbled back, keeping his balance just barely, but had to fall anyways, to avoid a roundhouse kick that was aimed at him. He rolled to the side just as Natsu's fist slammed into the ground, lit on fire once again as a small crater was made in the stone. Gokudera scrambled to his feet, dodging to the side again as Natsu didn't let up his attacks.

"Brilliant flame of the fire dragon!" Natsu stated, as he clapped his hands – both covered in fire – together, a large explosion erupting from around him. Gokudera cursed again as he sent a shield in front of him, though he just barely got it there in time.

He blinked though, and swiftly spun around to see Natsu there. A fist hit his gut, but Gokudera grabbed onto it, ignoring the fierce pain. Tensing his muscles, he flipped the surprised mage over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground as he dropped bombs on the surrounding ground. Jumping, Gokudera threw another bomb underneath himself, boosting himself into the air and out of the range as the dynamite blew up.

Landing, the silver haired bomber staggered a bit, gingerly holding his now throbbing stomach. Coughing was heard, as Natsu staggered out of the smoke, holding his arm where a rather large wound was now placed on it. They stood, there panting for a moment, before shaking off the pain and straightening up again.

Happy flapped down, before grabbing Natsu and hoisting him into the air again. Blinking, Gokudera brought out a storm disk and jumped onto it, hovering off of the ground slightly, though the disk was unable to go higher and allow actual flight.

Natsu charged up another roar of the fire dragon, and let it lose again. However, within a moment Gokudera had moved behind him, and Natsu blinked in shock at the speed the disk moved.

Gokudera pulled out another eight dynamite, the bombs split evenly between his hands. Bringing them up, he ignited the fuses with the pipe. He crossed his arms momentarily, before throwing the weapons. Once they were a few feet away, the backs lit up, before the dynamite was propelled forwards with storm flames.

Natsu was about to defend, but instead the bombs sped right past him. Blinking, he turned his head to see the dynamite turning, before aiming right at Happy. The exceed noticed as well, and flexed his wings to quickly dodge to the side as they blew past them again.

However, the storm flames were still burning brightly, and swept around to aim at Happy again. Growling, Natsu blasted magic at the bombs, making them explode. No sooner though, another set of bombs were in the air already.

"Happy! You're going to have to drop me. Gokudera's aiming for you," Natsu called out, and Happy nodded reluctantly before sweeping low to the ground and depositing Natsu. The blue cat sped off again, the bombs still chasing after him, and Natsu just hoped his partner would be okay until the fuses died.

Turning towards Gokudera, he saw the young teen smirking, and he shot him a confused look before feeling the ground lurch beneath him. His eyes widening, Natsu looked down to see that he landed on a similar storm disk to the one Gokudera was standing on, but didn't have time to react before it started moving. Immediately, Natsu leaned over, his cheeks puffing out as he felt his usual motion sickness come in.

"I remembered you having motion sickness on the train, so I figured that other moving objects might work as well. Seems I was right," Gokudera explained.

Natsu glared at the platform he was on, the red flames mocking him, as much like Tsuna's he still couldn't consume them, and the fire from the dynamite didn't last long enough to eat either, so his magic wasn't too high. He staggered slightly as the disk veered in another direction, causing more cramps to his stomach.

Gokudera's own disk was now running parallel to his, as he lit another four dynamites. Just before he could throw them though, an explosion came from underneath both of them. Gokudera cursed as the bombs were sent flying in a random direction before exploding harmlessly. The disks underneath him and Natsu were sent flying as well, and Gokudera grit his teeth as he slid across the pavement to a halt.

Natsu landed on the ground heavily as well, rolling a bit before stopping. Taking in a few deep breaths, he felt the queasiness slowly subside, and soon was pushing himself to his feet. Roughly 15 feet away, Gokudera was also stumbling to his feet, frowning slightly as he examined the disks, before shrugging it off. Both were panting slightly, tired form the long fight. The explosion was definitely from the land mines, meaning ten minutes had passed, and Natsu wasn't someone who enjoyed having battles end from anything other than his own skills.

"Oi, Gokudera! How about we finish this in one last blow?"

"Heh, just what I was thinking, Dragon-breath. We can't avoid the bombs forever, after all," Gokudera yelled back, a smirk on his face. He called over shields again, two on either side of him, while he lit multiple bombs.

Natsu on the other hand, was collecting a mass of flames around him, the fire swirling as it collected and he crouched down.

"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" he suddenly yelled, and burst forwards, using the flames as propulsion.

"Triple bomb!" Gokudera yelled at the same time, and threw the dynamite forwards, watching in satisfaction as half of them turned into rocket bombs, further spreading out the attack. He shifted his shields in front of him, doubling them up for better protection.

Natsu's eyes widened as he saw the large amount of dynamite in the air, but knew he couldn't stop now. Instead, he increased the flame amount that was surrounding his whole body to make it even larger, wincing as the bombs exploded as he passed them. He nearly lost his footing due to a bomb activating behind him, but regained his balance just as he reached Gokudera. He rammed into the shields heavily, and could feel the strong push of the flames behind him, acting like a booster.

Gokudera growled as he used up more of his flames to strengthen the shields, struggling to keep them up. Natsu's attack wasn't relenting, and if anything, only getting stronger. His eyes narrowed slightly, before widening as he felt himself getting pushed back by his own shields. Clicking his tongue, Gokudera meet Natsu's eyes through the blaze, smirking again.

"Not bad, Dragon-breath," he chuckled, before his foot slipped back a bit further. Another explosion rang out through the area, as the two were covered in smoke, obscuring everyone's view.

* * *

><p>Tsuna jumped at the sudden explosion, eyes widening in shock.<p>

"G-Gokudera-kun! Natsu!" he yelped in surprise, but Yamamoto placed his hand on his shoulder, giving the brunette a bright smile, and Tsuna calmed down quickly, but his eyes still swam with anxiousness as he turned back to the mass of smoke.

* * *

><p>The smoke slowly cleared, until the upper half of two forms were visible. Gokudera and Natsu both stood there, panting and covered with bruises and burns. The Vongola Gear on the younger of the two had disappeared, reverting back to it's usual form as a buckle, and he grinned a bit, before falling to his knees, and finally hitting the ground.<p>

Natsu blinked in shock, still panting, as Gokudera fell, before cheers broke out from the crowd, which until now had been silent.

"The winner of the match, after 11 minutes, is the fire dragon slayer, Natsu Dragneel!" Mirajane announced into the microphone as the board made the changes.

"Natsu! You did it!" Happy cheered, returning to Natsu's side, the bombs having exploded before they caught Happy. The fire mage blinked in surprise, before a grin slid across his face, and he punched the air in victory.

"All right!" he yelled, before freezing and falling to the ground as well.

"Gah! Wounds, wounds, wounds," he chanted, feeling the full effect now that the battle had ended. Within moments though, Wendy was beside him, casting out healing magic to ease the pain with Carla hovering nearby, and Ryohei had moved to Gokudera as well. Glancing up, Natsu spotted the others on the roof, and gave them a bright grin and a thumbs up, which Lucy, Erza, Yamamoto, and Tsuna returned. Chrome smiled shyly, Mukuro chuckling all the while, and Gray just clicked his tongue but grinned back a bit as well, along with Gajeel. Hibari looked somewhat interested, but soon just returned to lying on the roof.

"All done. Congratulations, Natsu!" Wendy spoke up, snapping Natsu out of it, and he blinked before sitting up, the pain having been eliminated mostly. A soft groan announced Gokudera's recovery as well.

"You've EXTREMELY woken up, Octopus-head!" Ryohei yelled, and Gokudera flinched, before moving away once he too sat up.

"Stop yelling, stupid Turf-top! I don't need my ears hurting on top of everything else!" he growled back, and Ryohei just laughed, still grinning.

"Oi, good fight, Gokudera!" Natsu smiled, and Gokudera blinked, before looking away, scratching at the back of his head slightly.

"Tch, same to you, Dragon-breath. But don't think that you're more fit to be Juudaime's right-hand man or anything," he replied, though the last part was accompanied with a glare.

"Eh? Tsuna's right-hand man? Seems interesting!"

"Wha-! Damn idiot! You aren't nearly qualified enough to even be Juudaime's follower! Baseball-freak would be a better right-hand man than you, and that's saying something!"

"Oi, why not! I'm strong enough if I beat you, right?"

"Idiot! Strength isn't the only responsibility of a right-hand man!"

"Eh? Then teach me the rest of it!"

"No way, Dragon-breath!"

Tsuna merely sweat dropped at the yells that were even heard from where they were, while Yamamoto just laughed, completely ignoring the insult about him. Sighing, Tsuna just hoped that Gokudera wouldn't start thinking that Natsu was a threat to his position as well.

"Haha, seems like you have a third person to be your right-hand man, Tsuna," Yamamoto laughed, and the brunette merely groaned.

* * *

><p>In the end, Tsuna had to go down and stop the fight along with Erza in order to move the two out of the battlefield, the spectators just sighing at the typical behaviour from Natsu. Finally getting out of the way, Mirajane cleared her throat slightly.<p>

"Well, now that we can move on, I'll be announcing the next matchup!" she called, before glancing at the board quickly.

"The next battle of the tournament will be between Wendy against Levy!" she yelled, and Wendy squeaked slightly, while Levy just smiled and walked over.

"Let's do our best, alright, Wendy?" she asked, and the younger of two blinked in surprise, before nodding.

"Un!"

* * *

><p>AN: I feel like I failed the fight scene majorly. OTL It's just not overly easy to give Gokudera much diversity in attacks when he only has dynamite, and not even the full system C.A.I. anymore. _ _ Well, tell me how it was, and where I can improve on. Next chapter, the fight probably won't be too long, since it's more of a minor battle, so I'll probably have the first bit of the next fight in there as well. And yes, Gokudera is calling Natsu Dragon-breath. Since he has a nickname for everyone else anyways. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, and/or alerted this story! It makes me really happy! Until next chapter though, ciao~!

* * *

><p>I'm rather surprised at the poll results, in all honesty. But remember, it's still up there for voting! And probably will be for quite a few more chapters! -w- A few of the votes here were in a review by the way, so the numbers will differentiate from the poll itself. The current votes are:<p>

Other: 1 vote

Tsuna x Lucy: 2 votes

Tsuna x Erza: 3 votes

Tsuna x Chrome: 3 votes

Tsuna x Wendy: 4 votes

No pairing: 5 votes

Tsuna x Reborn: 13 votes

Yeah, I'm still kind of shocked. I wasn't expecting it to be honest! ^^' Anyways though, you can still vote, and you can choose up to two choices. So, yeah, I guess. ._.

* * *

><p>I'll be replying to reviews down here from now on, I think. Probably easier than having to scroll down however far to find the actual chapter. ^^'<p>

hinamori chrome: Haha, sorry about the slow update. ^^' I hope your curiosity didn't get to bad…

Chi-tanda: In all honesty, I have no clue yet. OTL I'm just going to see what will happen… Erm, anyways, I'm glad the explosions are interesting. ^^ I hope the update wasn't to slow for you… ;A;

The Mouse Maestro: Of course Reborn can do anything well. It's Reborn. ._. And I don't see Xanxus cooperating much either. ^^' Ah well. And I'm rather honoured that you actually think my humour is amusing! I always thought it was quite lame, and generally a fail… OTL

VongolaHermit: Ah, sorry about that. I just didn't want to put the fight in the same chapter. ^^'

Connection of Complication: Tsuna always has had the oddest luck. xD I wouldn't be surprised though if Xanxus would be trying to honestly kill him though. ._. And as for Makarov, well, it's obvious that he's one of the strongest people there, and I'm not even sure how many guild members would go all out against him, excluding Natsu. Plus, would he really want to fight his members anyways? He just seems rather hard to fight against, like if I stuck in Gildarts for a battle. That really would be impossible. OTL Ah, and I'm kind of interested in Tsuna X Lucy as well, though I always have been a fan of Natsu X Lucy. Right now, Tsuna X Reborn seems to be winning though anyways. -w-

OBSERVER01: He definitely is. ._. I pity Tsuna. And a battle between them would be interesting, though the finals will be revealed in time. ^^

Dreamless-Sleep777: He really should be afraid. But of course always better him than us. xD We'd die if we lived in his place for even a day I'm sure. ._.

kinglugia: Hm, interesting for sure. :3 We'll see what happens in the finals. -w-

Soul of The World: Haha, the faces are probably pretty funny. xD I can't seem to work them in that well though. OTL And I'm sorry about the whole pairing thing, seeing as I've done that to you with both of my stories. I'm sorry! ;A;

BrokenBlackCat: Haha, it can only remain unknown for so long. ^^' And the way things are turning out, this story may end up yaoi after all, seeing as R27 is currently winning in the poll. ._. I honestly was not expecting that.

icefox94: Hmm, perhaps. :3 Yeah, and I'm not sure how to get Laxus or Capricorn in here either. It seems kind of impossible, since this takes place before the S-class exam arc… OTL Eh, I'll try and figure something out.

babob: Ah, I'm glad you decided to try out my crossover fic! *bows* I wasn't sure how much to make Tsuna freak out in all honesty, but I figured he should be getting used to weird things by now. Like seriously, he has a talking baby hitman with a shape-shifting chameleon for a tutor. If that's not weird, I don't what is. ._. And I'm glad the travel method was good. I wasn't sure if it would seem overused. ^^' Haha, I feel like Tsuna's life would be even more hectic though if Natsu was his brother. And thank you for the favourite! I hope the other chapters still entertain you, I'm not sure but I think the story gets a bit dull. OTL

Guest: I literally began laughing out loud when I read this. I'm just glad no one was around, they would have thought I was insane. Seriously. I'm truly happy that I managed to inspire someone to actually make a story with my own, really. ;A; Thank you so much. I'm quite looking forwards to it! :3

Il Vietato Cielo: Gah, I'm sorry I didn't work in the second fight. I just figured the update was late enough. x

Guest: I'm glad it's good, and that the tournament doesn't seem too lame. :3

Asuna25: Haha, that's fine! I'm glad you got so absorbed into the story! And woah, does it make much sense if you only saw one episode? Or did you read the manga? oxo

Haha, I'm glad it was funny. He really should just start expecting everything though. xD

And at least you get to find out now. Sorry for the slow update! I must say I love your profile picture, by the way. xD It always amused me, especially the fact that Mukuro and Hibari seem so comfortable in skirts. And I'm not trying to be a creep, honestly…

Guest: I know, I'm sorry. OTL And did you mean the story or the arc for finishing?

27-YUMI-72: Thank you. ;A; And this was about as ASAP as I could get it, which wasn't much… Sorry… OTL Well, I hope you liked the chapter either way! ^^'

5stareader: Ah, I'm glad you like it so much! I always get annoyed by the amount of just completely random crossover fics myself. _ _ I'm really happy though that you like it so much! I wasn't even aware I had all those elements in here. ._. I hope the chapters continue to entertain you! :3


	25. Second and Third Battles, Go!

A/N: I apologize for lateness! Really! *bows*

* * *

><p>"We should get back to the roof," Happy commented, drawing Natsu's, Gokudera's, and Ryohei's attention back to him.<p>

"Yeah, we should," Natsu agreed, and Happy quickly grabbed Natsu again, before flapping up towards the roof. Gokudera just clicked his tongue, before starting to search for Tsuna, not knowing he was on the roof as well.

"EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled, before taking off in a sprint after Natsu and Happy, who had just landed. He jumped just before he met the wall, but unfortunately, was still way to low, and managed to just slam into the wall face first. Happy sighed, before flapping down to pick up the totally unaffected Ryohei and bring him up to the others. Turning around, he searched for Gokudera, and spotting him, grabbed the teen by the back of his shirt.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Gokudera yelled, glaring up at the blue cat.

"Taking you to the others," Happy replied, with a slightly clueless look on his face as to why Gokudera seemed angry. The bomber in reply, turned towards the roof, and scanned the people, his scowl growing, until it vanished when he saw Tsuna. Setting Gokudera down, Happy landed on the ground as well, before walking over to where Natsu was.

"J-Juudaime! I'm sorry! I failed as your right hand man, to lose a battle like that!" Gokudera immediately started, banging his head on the ground where he was currently bowing.

"Hiiee! G-Gokudera-kun! I-it's fine! Natsu's really strong, so as it is, you were able to put up a really good fight! It's really fine!" Tsuna quickly replied, placing his hands on Gokudera's shoulders to stop him from harming himself further. Immediately, Gokudera's head whipped up, sparkles in his eyes.

"Juudaime! You're so kind! I don't deserve such kindness from you!" Gokudera replied like usual.

"Hahaha, maa maa, Gokudera, you should calm down. But congratulations on the fight anyways!" Yamamoto replied, cheerful as always, and Gokudera turned to him, glaring.

"Baseball-freak, why should I listen to you? And congratulations from an idiot like you doesn't mean much," he snarled back, but Yamamoto just laughed it off.

"Sure, sure, Gokudera" he replied with a grin, before facing towards the battlegrounds.

Scowling further, Gokudera moved to sit beside Tsuna, who was sitting at the edge of the Vongola group, and also turned his attention forwards. With a relieved sigh, Tsuna relaxed as well, sending a silent thanks to Yamamoto.

"Congratulations by the way, you two, it was a good battle," Lucy smiled, and Erza nodded in agreement.

"A good battle between friends helps with strengthening bonds, after all," she added with a smile.

"I'm just surprised that the idiots didn't manage to knock each other out and end with a tie or something," Gray nonchalantly commented, and immediately Gokudera and Natsu directed glares at him.

"What was that, ice-head?" Gokudera growled.

"We didn't quite hear you, pervert exhibitionist," Natsu added, and even Gray backed down slightly at the combined aura being emitted by them, though not completely. Tsuna could only sigh uselessly, sending a helpless look at the three glaring teens, who were now being hit by Erza, before shaking his head, and turning back to the new battle.

* * *

><p>Wendy and Levy stood on the battleground, the two blue haired females facing each other, Carla standing beside Wendy.<p>

"Let's both do our best, Wendy!" Levy said with a smile, and Wendy smiled back, nodding.

"All right, Levy!" Wendy called back, before they drew into slightly offensive positions.

"Battle between Wendy Marvell and Levy McGarden, start!" Mirajane yelled.

Carla pulled Wendy into the air, as a magic circle started forming in front of her face.

"Roar of the sky dragon!" she called, a wind torrent blasting forth. Levy extended her right arm, her left palm positioned behind the elbow, before quickly swiping them to the other side.

"Storm!" she yelled, and blue letters spelled out the spell in English. They swirled together, creating a matching tornado, both ends colliding head on. The two girls were pushed back by the force of the erupting wind, but they managed to dispel each other, vanishing back into normal air again as the wind died down.

"Solid script: fire – heat spell!" Levy announced, crossing outstretched arms, before spinning around and raising one in the air, where a deeper blue set of letters announcing fire formed, before merging into a single part, blue flames blasting forwards to where Wendy was.

"Wing slash of the sky dragon!"

Two whirlwinds surrounded Wendy's arms, before extending towards the fire pillar. One clashed with it, preventing it from going further, while the other swirled around, blowing away the flames until it reached and destroyed the source. However, Wendy froze when she saw the words oil speeding towards her and Carla through the dispelling winds, and they hit before either could move.

Large amounts of oil gushed forwards, drenching both of them, and they immediately started dropping.

"I'm sorry, Wendy, but I can't hold you up like this! The oil is weighing down my wings, plus the feathers are useless due to it," Carla managed out, her wings flapping furiously to at least slow their descent, though either way they landed rather harshly on the ground.

Wendy slowly got up, starting slightly as her feet slid from the excess amounts of oil, but managed to stand, only to suddenly fall into the ground, catching a brief glimpse of the words hole before the ground collapsed from under her.

"Iron!"

Wendy let out a surprised squeak when she suddenly felt a large weight land on her back, and managed to turn her head to see large letters made of iron pushing down on her.

Levy panted lightly, before lowering her arms as she walked towards the hole she had created, but just as she reached the edge, a sudden blast of wind tore upwards, forcing her to jump back, eyes squinting. When the wind died down, Wendy was standing there, arms raised with a sphere glowing there.

"Fast wind that run the heaven… Vernier!" she chanted, before being encased in a blue glow. Levy's eyes widened as Wendy suddenly sprinted around to her other side, moving in a blur, Vernier having drastically increased her movement speed.

"Roar of the sky dragon!" Wendy repeated the familiar spell, taking on an offensive and forcing Levy to go defensive.

"Guard!" Levy countered, arms raised in front of her as the spoken words appeared. The dragon roar hit is solidly, and Levy grit her teeth lightly as she fought to keep her defensive spell stronger than the torrent, getting pushed backwards slowly. She let out a startled yelp though, as she felt her foot slip, and her eyes widened when she felt herself falling, belatedly remembering the hole she had set earlier, and hadn't gotten the chance to dispel.

"Crap!" she lightly cursed, but Wendy was already above her, holding up the iron solid script, and Levy realized that she must have cast arms on herself, increasing her strength. Wendy threw down the solid script, the metal knocking the breath out of Levy, and she struggled to raise her arm, dispelling it with a soft gasp. However, before she could do anything else, Wendy had whirlwinds swirling around her arm already.

"Wing slash of the sky dragon!" Wendy called, and brought her arms forwards, the whirlwinds joining into one force as they rammed into Levy. Dust kicked up from the loose dirt in the pit, and Wendy landed on the ground again, panting heavily. Finally, the particles settled, and when they did, Levy was back on level ground, the spell having been dispelled, and lying there, groaning slightly, though it was obvious she was in no shape to move anytime soon.

"The winner, with a battle time of 4 minutes, is Wendy Marvell!" Mirajane said into the microphone, and Wendy, still panting slightly, couldn't but smile as cheers broke out.

"Congratulations, Wendy, you did a good job," Carla commented, padding over to her, wings already dry, the oil having also been dispelled when Levy was defeated.

"Thanks, Carla," the girl responded, a more relieved smile now on her face, and she collapsed with her legs sprawled out the sides, tired from the battle.

Sighing, she moved over to where Levy was, casting a spell to help restore her strength, though she could only do so much with how tired she was. The blue haired girl sat up slowly, rubbing her head softly, but gave a bright smile to Wendy.

"That was a good battle, Wendy, you were really good," she congratulated, and Wendy blushed lightly, but sent a smile back nevertheless.

"You were good as well, Levy!" she replied, and the two girls shared smiles. They both forced themselves to their feet, walking out of the arena again with the familiar purple flash.

"Levy!"

Immediately, Levy was tackled by Jet and Droy, who fussed over her state, Wendy just backing off a bit with a nervous laugh.

"I'll take you back then, since my wings are okay again," Carla spoke up, and Wendy nodded thankfully, as Carl's tail encircled her again before pulling her into the air. Landing shortly after, she gave a shy smile to everyone.

"Good job, Wendy!" Lucy was the first to say, followed by a round of congratulations from the others. Wendy blushed shyly, but beamed happily.

"Thank you, everyone!" she replied, before walking over to her old spot and sitting down with a small sigh. Everyone looked back over to Mirajane though as she started to speak again.

"Alright, now it's time for the next battle to start! Reborn changed the order of the remaining battles slightly, but it doesn't matter much. Anyways, without further ado, the next battle will be Ryohei versus one of the Varia members, Mammon!"

Tsuna nearly facepalmed, and figured that Reborn definitely had a hand in piling him, the Varia, and Natsu's group at the end of the first rounds.

"Yosh! It's my turn TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled excitedly, and everyone, even those on the ground, found themselves cringing as they tried to keep themselves from going deaf.

Without thought he jumped off the roof, landing flat on his face, but within moments was up again and sprinting into the area, grinning. Tsuna stared at this wide-eyed, before sighing at the typical antics from his sun guardian.

"Muu, I better get paid for having to deal with a noisy, obnoxious brat like this," Mammon muttered, before he walked over to the edge of the roof, jumping down nimbly and landing lightly unlike Ryohei. He walked into the arena, before standing a bit away from the sun guardian, cloak shielding his eyes as per usual.

Gokudera snorted from beside Tsuna.

"That turf-head is going to be pummelled. He's stupid as it is, he won't be able to see through illusions," he commented, and Gray also sighed.

"As much as I hate to say it, Gokudera's right. He couldn't see through any of the illusions that Cynthia had used in the battle, and according to Mukuro, those were weak ones," Gray added, and the two nodded to themselves about the hopeless situation, staring down at the poor boxer they were certain was about to get the worse beating he'd ever had.

"Well, then, the battle of Ryohei Sasagawa against Mammon starts, now!" Mirajane announced cheerfully, totally unaware of the morbid thoughts going through Gokudera's and Gray's heads.

Ryohei's bangle lit up at the words, and with a flash, it activated. Soon he had a metal guard going from his right arm to his elbow, as well as a piece on his right shoulder. His left only had armour on his wrist, and the bangle around his bicep was bigger, with 10 distinct points on it. There was also armour on his upper thighs, and separate pieces covered his knees down to his shoes. To finish it, a helmet was also placed on his head, and he donned his boxing gloves. Everyone had to wonder why his shirt had ripped off in the process though.

"Troublesome," Mammon muttered, but suddenly, multiple copies sprang up around the area, differing in colours. Soon, Ryohei was surrounded by doubles, and he looked around, bewildered.

"If you want a physical fight, you'll have to find me first," the Mammon's said together, and Ryohei narrowed his eyes slightly, before grinning.

"Alright, I'll definitely find you to the extreme!" he yelled back, before starting to punch through the illusions rapidly, the images dispelling.

"Heh, do you honestly think you can win like this?" the Mammon mass asked, a few of them starting to dodge the punches once or twice.

"I just need to extremely find you!" Ryohei responded, as he punched another clone.

"But what if I do this?"

With those words, Mammon clones reappeared, taking the place of the ones Ryohei had already defeated. As he punched another one, it was instantly replaced, and his eyes widened.

"Oi, stop hiding and fight me, Mammon!"

"Muu, why would I do that? And besides, I am fighting, it's not my fault you can't figure out my illusions, even when I'm making them easy to see through. It seems you really are an idiot."

Ryohei growled, before suddenly stopping his assault. With a flash, his Vongola gear disappeared, only to gather in a large bundle of light that soon transformed into an armoured kangaroo with a large scar to the right of its forehead.

"Garyuu! I need your help to find the real Mammon. You should be able to sense him better than me."

Garyuu nodded its head, before its eyes narrowed, scanning the area. It paused in its scanning, before making a deep noise in its throat to alert Ryohei.

"Over there?" he asked, and in response Kangaryuu nodded. Swiftly, Ryohei began punching the illusions over there, not overly worried about not having any of his gear. Another noise came from Garyuu, as it turned, and Ryohei immediately moved in the direction it was now facing.

"Muu, this is getting to be a bit troublesome," Mammon muttered to himself.

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><p>"Woah, I didn't think turf-head would be smart enough to pull something like that off. What with animals having better senses than us usually, it's not surprising that Garyuu can sense Mammon. Plus, that kangaroo isn't as much of an idiot," Gokudera commented, blinking in surprise as they watched Ryohei rapidly destroying the clones in the area Garyuu indicated, the kangaroo now joining in to help him.<p>

"I-I'm kind of surprised too. I wouldn't have thought to call out Natsu for that. Though, then again, I probably wouldn't have to with hyper intuition and all," Tsuna added in, honestly shocked that Ryohei could strategize like this outside of boxing tactics. Then again, even in the fight against Lussuria he had figured out how to get rid of the lights, so perhaps he had a good fighting instinct.

"Haha, this is getting interesting," Yamamoto grinned, and focused on the battle again.

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><p>Ryohei punched another clone, feeling his hand pass through again, but a small noise of pain drew his attention. Glancing towards Garyuu, he saw the kangaroo's boxing glove clad paw solidly landing a hit to one of the clones, though this time it didn't disappear like the rest.<p>

"Found you," Ryohei grinned, and Kangaryuu quickly turned back into his cambio forma. The boxer dashed forwards, fist raised to land another hit, but suddenly he felt himself being restricted. Glancing back at his fist, he saw dark blue tentacles wrapped around it, and soon one of his legs were trapped as well, restricting his movements.

"I didn't think you'd get caught this easily, Vongola sun guardian," Mammon commented, as the tentacles tightened painfully, Ryohei gritting his teeth slightly. However, he noticed one of his bangles points light up with sun flames after a few more moments, and mentally grinned. Mammon also seemed to notice, as he stopped to examine the bangle, which at that moment lit up with a second flame.

"What is this? The points are lighting up with sun flames… A new ability?" Mammon commented, not yet having seen Ryohei use the bangle before as a third point lit up.

"Feh, I'll just make sure you don't use it," he finished, moving back a bit, before his pacifier glowed, apparently still giving him power despite the fact he wasn't in curse form at the moment. A blizzard erupted around them abruptly, completely concealing Mammon as it swirled around him. Ryohei flinched, before his eyes widened as he felt pressure on his legs. Glancing down, he saw ice creeping up them, frozen to the point that they couldn't be moved. Wincing, he bit his lip in pain as the cold began numbing his skin, especially as it reached his bare torso. However, suddenly he smirked as another flame charge, and he raised his free hand as the power gathered at the fist, before thrusting it towards Mammon.

"Sunshine counter!" he yelled, as a blast of yellow flames shot straight towards the mass of snow and ice that sealed Mammon. He could feel everything melting from the heat of the flames, and abruptly, it all disappeared, no doubt Mammon cancelling out the illusion. As the flame burst died down, it revealed Mammon with the ends of his cloak slightly singed, but looking no worse for wear.

"Hm, you're stronger than I expected, Sasagawa. Though it doesn't really matter. If you can't see through illusions, then you can't win," he commented.

"I'll extremely defeat you, Mammon, regardless of illusions," Ryohei responded, before dashing forwards with a raised fist. He stopped though, as smoke engulfed Mammon, and feminine coughing was heard. When it cleared away, it revealed-

"K-Kyoko?" Ryohei stuttered, shocked at the appearance of his sister who looked around confusedly, Mammon standing off to the side and staring at her as well.

"O-Oniichan, where am I? I was looking for you when I was suddenly engulfed with black smoke," she asked, confusion clearly shown in her eyes.

"U-umm, well, you see…"

Ryohei tried to think of an excuse, but as usual, failed.

"How troublesome, someone's in the way. I'll just need to remove them," Mammon interrupted, pacifier lighting up again, as Ryohei gave him a glare. He ran in front of Kyoko, arms outspread.

"No way will you hurt her!" he yelled.

"But, Oniichan, you should be concerned about yourself," Kyoko's quiet voice spoke up, and Ryohei tensed as he felt a hand hit his neck, causing his legs to suddenly go numb as he crumpled to the ground.

"K-Kyoko?" he asked, but watched as she evaporated into mist flames.

"Oi, Mammon! That's just dirty to use my sister like that!"

"It's perfectly fair. I'm an illusionist, after all," Mammon responded blandly, before a sword materialized in mid air and pressed itself against Ryohei's neck. Turning, Mammon looked over at Mirajane.

"It's obvious I won, so hurry up and end the match," he called, and she blinked in surprise, still a bit stunned at seeing the illusions, before snapping out of it.

"A-ah, yes. The battle, at 6 minutes, goes to Mammon!" she yelled, and another round of cheers broke out after everyone snapped out of their own stupors.

"Muu, I can't believe I had to do that without even getting 1000 dollars," Mammon grumbled as he walked back to the roof, easily getting back up to join the Varia with a well placed illusion. Happy and Carla flew over, heaving Ryohei up and bringing him back to the others, his legs still getting over the last of the numbness due to his nerves being hit.

"It was a good battle, Onii-san," Tsuna reassured as the boxer was placed onto the ground, joining the group again.

"It was an EXTREME battle, and I'll make sure to beat Mammon next time!" Ryohei yelled back, enthusiasm up already and if anything higher.

"Tch, stupid turf-top, it was obvious your sister was an illusion," Gokudera muttered, and once again the usual verbal fight broke out between the two with Tsuna and Yamamoto trying to calm them down.

"All right, everyone! Time for the next battle!"

The call from Mirajane luckily calmed everyone down, and attention was brought to the white haired teen.

"The next match is going to be Lucy Heartfilia versus Belphegor!"

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><p>AN: Did the double battles make up for the lateness? Though, they were rather short… OTL Anyways, I hope you guys liked it! I feel like they're rushed, but give me your opinions! I'm bad at self-judging. ^^' Thanks to all who have favourited, alerted, and/or reviewed this story, as usual! Ciao~!

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><p>The poll is still going! :3 Actually, I'm not sure when to even end it. ._. Meh, whatever, I'll figure out something. The current tally is:<p>

Reborn x Tsuna: 23

No Pairing: 10

Tsuna x Chrome: 9

Tsuna x Wendy: 8

Tsuna x Erza: 5

Other (I think I've gotten everything up so far): 3

Tsuna x Lucy: 1

Tsuna x Kyoko x Haru: 1

Natsu x Tsuna: 0

Gray x Tsuna: 0

So, vote for up to two choices if you haven't already. And you can also vote in the reviews if you don't want to do the poll. I'll add them to the total. -w- If you'd like to change your vote, then just tell me which one to take a vote away from and put it to what!

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><p>hinamori chrome: Ah, here you go! :3<p>

babob: Yay! The more reviews the better. xD Haha, and I'm trying to keep him in character, but my love for mature Tsuna gets in the way. ;A; Though, he is really maturing in the most recent arc. -w- Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

5stareader: Haha, thanks! ^^ I'm glad I was able to at least give Gokudera some diversity, though I still miss his system C.I.A. OTL

VongolaHermit: Yeah, he's not the strongest in hand-to-hand combat, but considering, he's pretty well off. And I'm rather surprised at the pairings as well. I was honestly not expecting that. ._.

mastergamer14: Ah, thanks! :D And 2796 is really nice, I enjoy the couple. -w- I'll check out your story as well! Though I can't guarantee I'll review… I'm a terrible reviewer… OTL

icefox94: I wanted to at least give Gokudera a chance. ^^' But yes, he really needs to get over the complete obsession with Tsuna. ._. And no, you don't need to still take the poll! I'll just make sure to add everything here! Ah, and they did, which was the R27. Though I'm not sure about the other two. And I'll really consider that! It may work!

BrokenBlackCat: Haha, sure! Though I'm not sure how good of a teacher I am. Yeah, yaoi seems to be rather popular among the fanbase. Haha, and it's fine to babble! And I'll add your votes!

Dreamless-Sleep777: Thanks! ^^

Aira-Chama: Chapter 23: It does seem very odd. Don't have a brain malfunction Tsuna!

Chapter 24: You can vote in the reviews if you want!

Asuna25: Ah, thanks! :3

TatsuyaGoldWolf123: Ah, sorry I didn't get them in in this chapter, but Lucy and Bel are up next!

OBSERVER01: Ah, I hope it was interesting!

A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Haha, I've kind of forgotten as well. ^^' It seems I was being a failure and not figuring out what you were talking about, something for closure, which I figured might be referring to the ban. Eh, I don't know. And Reborn's hammer is of course always amusing. xD I'm happy that the fight turned out okay. It's always fun to write about people somewhat similar in fights, or complete opposites. X3 And I'm not going to be exactly following what Mirajane put on the board. Reborn interfered again. ^^' Haha, I'll be looking forward to any reviews you put up! Just don't go completely silent. :3


	26. Blood Stars

A/N: I'm sorry, really and truly! I'll go commit seppuku if it'll make up for my long absence. ;A; My life's just been a bit hectic lately, especially with school starting, and then for the bit of spare time I did have, I hit a giant wall for this story, and have only managed to chip away at it slowly for the past however long. OTL Feel free to yell at me if you want. If I take this long for any other updates, you can yell at me to update as well. Maybe that'll kick my muse in gear. TTxTT

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><p><em><strong>And please don't kill me, but I'm restarting the poll. I realized how unfair it is that some of the pairings were added in later on, so it wouldn't be fully accurate, so all votes in either the poll or reviews are being reset. Please, if you can, vote again. I'm really sorry, I'm just trying to make it fair. OTL<strong>_

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><p>Lucy blinked in surprise, not having expected her battle so soon, and paled slightly when she heard Belphegor's signature laugh from behind her.<p>

"Ushishi~ This will be a rather fun fight, peasant~" he snickered, before easily jumping down to the ground and landing gracefully. Straightening up, he walked into the arena, before turning to where Lucy and the others sat and sending a wide grin up to them.

"T-Tsuna, please tell me that guy isn't as insane as I think he is…" Lucy stuttered, and Tsuna could only send her a sympathetic glance.

"I'd be lying if I said he isn't, Lucy," he admitted mournfully, before patting her on the back encouragingly.

"It should be fine though, after all, he isn't allowed to kill or maim you. And a word of advice, don't-"

Before Tsuna could finish his sentence, a bullet was shot right at him, which he barely managed to dodge with a small squeak. Looking down, he spotted Reborn for the first time since the tournament had started, the black eyes flashing in amusement and a cold smirk on his face, though Tsuna got the message.

"U-um, just, good luck, Lucy. Fight hard, okay?" Tsuna finished, a small shaky smile on his face. Lucy patted his head as a way of saying thanks, before Happy picked her up and deposited her on the ground. With a quick wave to everyone as they yelled out their own encouragements, she joined the prince in the rune encased area.

"Are you ready, peasant?" he asked with a grin, and Lucy regarded him with a calculating eyes.

"I suppose. And I'm not really a peasant," she responded, muttering the last part, though of course Bel still heard it. He hummed in amusement and slight questioning, but let it go, not feeling like prying into the mage's meaning for now.

"The battle will begin soon!" Mirajane announced, and Lucy straightened up while Bel's smile grew, both anticipating for when the fight would start. Lucy could feel anxiousness and even slight nervousness about the fight about to start, but knew it would soon go away in favour of focusing on the battle.

Bel on the other hand only felt excitement. It had been a while since he had a match like this against someone, the closest being when he used Fran for target practice. Assassinations usually didn't result in fights, as they were supposed to be silent, so the chance for a good battle made him rather happy, especially given that his opponent was someone from this strange world, and so far these people's abilities hadn't ceased to amuse him with their uniqueness, even compared to dying will attacks. The main power source seemed to be magic, and he wouldn't be surprised if Lucy's fighting used the multitude of keys at her side, further suspect that her hand was angled towards them, ready to grab one at a moments notice. His grin widened as he laughed again. This truly would be an interesting fight.

"The battle is starting in 3… 2… 1… Fight!" Mirajane finally announced, and the two figures immediately reacted.

With experienced movements Lucy had quickly worked a key off of the ring they were attached to, and slashed the golden object downwards.

"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, the gate of the golden bull! Taurus!" she chanted, the familiar words easily flowing into her head. The key flashed, before a burst of smoke appeared in front of her. A cross between what sounded like a battle cry almost and a cow mooing was heard from within, and as the smoke vanished, it showed an extremely muscular half man, half cow creature standing there, wielding a large axe.

Bel blinked in surprise, not that anyone saw it, and grinned.

"Interesting! I wonder how the cow will cut up," he laughed, before raising his hands, three knives held in each. He stopped though when he realized that the bull was apparently trying to flirt with the female blonde, who had an exasperated look on her face as she tried to get his focus on the main issue at hand.

"We're in the middle of a fight, Taurus! We need to actually fight," she repeated, and he finally seemed to understand, eyes travelling over to Bel, who had an amused expression, though it was slightly irritated at being ignored by a peasant like the cow.

The bull said something else which was definitely another flirt, before finally focusing on the task as he gripped his axe tighter.

"Ushishishi, finally paying attention, you stupid cow?" he asked, and the bull's eyes narrowed.

"For troubling Lucy-san, I'll definitely defeat you!" he announced, breath billowing out from his nostrils, and Bel only looked on in amusement.

"You can try, but the prince won't be defeated by a simple cow," he replied, before gripping his knives a bit tighter as they finally began, nearly two minutes of the ten passed already due to the stupid distractions.

With a small cry, Taurus charged forwards, brandishing his axe. When he reached Bel, he deftly swung it, but the blonde easily ducked below the attack, the grin on his face never leaving. Another swing was aimed, this time lower, but Bel merely opted to jump above it, landing on the flat side of the blade to further annoy the spirit.

"You're much too slow to try and fight the prince," Bel laughed, jumping of the axe as it was raised again. This time Taurus aimed for a diagonal slash, forcing the teen to quickly roll forwards, before standing again and hitting the cow's shoulder with a light slap.

"Missed again," he taunted, dodging another blow and this time hitting Taurus's head.

"You should work on your aim," he commented, while Taurus just glared at him. Another swing was launched, and another taunting hit was placed as Bel dodged. Taurus was clearly getting frustrated, and Bel simply laughed, before jumping away and launching some knives, grazing the spirit's sides as they flew past, before lodging into the ground. More knives were thrown, all landing behind the bull, who blinked in confusion.

"You say I need to work on my aim, yet you can't even hit me with that many knives," he accused, raising his arms again, but froze.

"Who said that I was aiming to hit you with _knives?_" Bel asked, grinning as small cuts slashed Taurus when he tried to move forwards. The disturbances to the short hairs on his body showed outlines of wires. Taurus tried to move back, but felt the wires pushing into his back as well. Bel quickly stepped forwards and grabbed the axe, pulling it out of the surprised spirit's grip, ensuring he wouldn't be able to cut through them as he tossed it behind him, the metal clattering to the ground.

"Ushishi, the prince is of course a genius, so trapping someone like you is simple," Bel smirked. "Especially when I attached wires right onto you."

Taurus was about to ask what he meant, but then remembered the light attacks on him before, no doubt Bel having placed them then. He strained against the wires, but whatever the were made of they weren't snapping any time soon, and somehow the knives had buried themselves in the ground deep enough that they weren't budging. Taurus stopped as he felt his skin being cut by the wires, despite his thick skin. He was clearly trapped.

"I'm sorry, Lucy-san, I failed you," he muttered, before disappearing in a flash of light.

"You did well, Taurus," Lucy assured, another key in her grasp as Taurus's was put away.

"Gate of the scorpion, I open thee! Scorpio!" she yelled, and immediately the spirit responded so a man was standing in front of her. He had tan skin and short hair that was white on one half and red on the other. A flower shaped red collar with gold trim was around his neck, he wore no shirt, and he had a large belt holding up red fabric around his legs, black shorts underneath. Layered grey bandage like material adorned his legs and arms, and he also wore black gloves. The thing that really stood out though was the large metal scorpion tail arched behind him, the words Antares written on it.

"We are," he greeted with his usual catch phrase, eyes immediately locking onto Bel's form.

"Is this the enemy, Lucy?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yes! He uses knives, and it seems he also attached wires to them, so be careful!" she warned, and Scorpio grinned.

"Got it. I'll make sure to beat him quickly so I can take Aquarius out on a date," he replied, before aiming his tail right at Belphegor.

"Sand buster!" he called, bracing his hands on the ground below him with tail raised, as a tornado of sand burst forward. Bel's expression changed to one of surprise and he took a step back, but the sand quickly engulfed his whole form.

"Alright!" Lucy cheered, but instead of mirroring her expression, Scorpio's was one of concentration as he seemed to be struggling against something.

"Scorpio?" she questioned, but glancing up she saw the issue. Red flames had engulfed the edge of the sand tornado, and quickly more spots were igniting. The fire spread across Scorpio's attack, and his eyes widened in surprise before he dodged to the side, pulling Lucy after him. No sooner had he done so than the flames engulfed the whole sand tornado, before dying away.

Lucy stared in shock at the area, where only a few grains of sand remained. Looking over to Bel, they saw the usual grin on his face as a white mink landed on his shoulders, who had dark grey bangs covering it's eyes much like Bel. Red storm flames blazed on its ears, as well as its tail.

"Good job, Mink," he laughed, and the animal let out a similar laugh in a higher pitch.

Scorpio growled lightly, before standing again, tail raised.

"Sand buster!" he yelled again, the attack being launched at a much closer range now. Instantaneously though, the mink had jumped into the air and quickly sped through the air. As its tail brushed against the attack, flames lit up across the sand, spreading over to the next one rapidly. Growling, Scorpio dropped the parts of his attack that were aflame, the gap quickly being filled in again. However, Mink was persistent, and kept the sand at bay, the deconstruction property of the flames easily eating away at the sand and spreading.

With a grin, Bel brandished three knives and threw it in Scorpio's direction, who instinctively lowered his tail to block them. However, this retracted the attack as the sand dispelled, and Mink quickly darted in to where Scorpio was, tail catching on his chest and storm flames quickly engulfed Scorpio's form.

"Seems I wasn't able to do much," he grit out between his teeth, before vanishing in a burst of light, escaping the corrosive flames. Lucy grit her teeth in slight pain from her spirit's expression, but remained determined, while the storm mink landed on Bel's shoulder again.

"Gate of the lion, I open thee. Leo!" she yelled, and within moments the orange haired male was standing in front of her, donned with his now usual suit and glasses perched on his nose.

"It seems we have a rather difficult opponent, Lucy," Loke commented calmly, and Lucy could only nod.

"Yeah, knives, wires, and storm flames, if I recall correctly. Plus he doesn't seem too bad in close combat," she replied, a worried expression on her face.

"Hmm, well, I'll try my best either way."

With that he grasped his left bicep as a glow started to appear around Loke's left fist, eyes narrowing slightly.

"I'll try and help you, though I don't know how much I can do," she replied, and Loke merely nodded.

Bel on the other hand only grinned at the new challenge, the other spirits having proven to not be much, especially since they didn't know what to expect. But this new one seemed like a better contest for his fighting style. Grasping more knives again, he flung them with deadly aim, watching as the newcomer easily and swiftly dodged them before dashing forwards.

Loke aimed a well-placed punch at Bel, who predictably dodged it, but Loke continued with the attacks. Throughout the multitude of swings, Bel only danced away, though admittedly he had to say that Loke was very experienced, as he was just barely dodging in time, despite his own training.

Quickly putting some distance between them, Bel brandished the familiar knives as he launched them forwards. However, a black whip soon intercepted, knocking them out of the air, and Bel glanced over to where Lucy stood.

"Ushishishi. This is more interesting," he laughed, grinning, before letting his storm mink crawl onto his hand.

"Let's see how you deal with this, shall we~?" he asked, while Mink's flames flared. Lashing his tail out in front of him, a large wall of storm flames spread through the air, heading towards Loke.

"Fiamma Scarlatta: Crimson Flame," Bel announced.

Eyes narrowing, Loke planted his feet on the ground firmly, hands glowing as he moved them in a circular motion, before placing them together. With a flash, Regulas magic discharged forwards, piercing through the flame wall and tearing it apart.

"Hmm, you're definitely stronger than that bug from before," Bel hummed, watching as the last few wisps of both attacks dispersed. "But, you're still weaker than a Varia officer," he added, laughing. Loke merely regarded his opponent. He felt that the teen definitely had some more hidden strength then what he had shown, but couldn't be certain.

Instead, he decided to force the answers out, and charged his fist with a large amount of Regulas magic, which took a circular shape, and ran towards Bel. The Varia member only stood there with his hands relaxed in his pockets though, and as Loke was about to land a solid punch on him, Mink swiftly raised itself onto it's front paws and hung it's tail in front of itself. With a quick flick, it started to spin in a rapid circle, and a shield of storm flames formed in front of Bel.

Loke's attack hit the defensive flames solidly. He grit his teeth as he could feel a sharp burn to his fist, no doubt the storm flames, and he broke away before they could do much damage. Mink's shield also dispelled, the small animal panting a little bit due to the strong flames he had to use to keep the attack away, but overall looked rather unaffected.

"Still weaker," Bel repeated happily, and raised his hand up. With a short snap, three different lines of storm flames raced across the ground, and looking closely, Loke spotted the faint shine of wires placed on the stone. Chancing a quick glance back, the spirit saw that three knives had been impaled into the ground. The storm user must have thrown them during Loke's last assault, while he was distracted.

He moved to jump out of the way, but instead of his feet gliding over the ground, he felt thin metal cut into his legs, halting his movements. Following the wires again, Loke realized that Bel had managed to throw them in such a way that they interlaced over his ankles, a clear demonstration of his skills with the weapons.

Thinking quickly, Loke charged up more Regulas magic and shot a burst at the wires, snapping them. However, more knives flew past him, and with it more trails of storm flames. Another knife flew at both of his sides, but he twisted to avoid them. It seemed to be what Bel had planned on though, which the spirit realised at the last moment when they cut through the fabric of his suit, stringing the wires into it like a needle.

The storm flames sped across, and Loke winced as he braced for the corrosive heat. Sure enough, flames reached him, and the bottom of his pant legs and suit caught fire. Due to his flaming clothes, he unfortunately wasn't paying attention to Bel, and froze when he felt cold metal pierce the right side of his chest, avoiding the heart even if spirits technically couldn't die from something like that. Not that Belphegor would probably know that though. Flames flared up, and Loke doubled over in pain at the internal burning. Reaching, he pulled out the knife, letting it clatter to the ground, but the flames had already got a grip. Loke felt himself growing weaker, and his skin started to vanish in wisps of gold light as he felt the spirit world pulling him back.

"Sorry I couldn't do much more, Lucy…" he gasped, looking over to where his key holder would be, only to see Bel in front of her with a knife across her neck, her whip dropped to the ground. A rueful smile stole onto Loke's face as his head dropped again.

"Seems we lost," he chuckled, before finally vanishing in a small flash of light.

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><p>"I win," Belphegor snickered, and Lucy just swallowed lightly, feeling her skin scrape against the sharp blade at her neck.<p>

"The battle between Lucy and Belphegor is over, Bel as the victor after 8 minutes and 49 seconds," Mirajane called, and the crowd cheered over the good battle, though internally they were just thankful that the prince was on their side. Bel dropped the knife, and Lucy let a sigh of relief, before offering her hand to the blonde teen.

"That was a good battle, Belphegor," she smiled, but Bel only laughed in response, tucking his knife back to wherever he kept it as Mink vanished, and he walked past her.

"Entertaining enough for a peasant, though it could have used more blood," he replied offhandedly, before continuing on his way, humming some rock sounding song under his breath, though Lucy swore she caught the word bloody as he walked out of ear shot. Shaking herself mentally, Lucy double checked to make sure all of her keys were secured on her belt again, before turning and walking after 'Prince the Ripper'.

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><p>Gragh, finally finished. OTL I had hit a major wall during the fight, trying to come up with different moves for them to use that wouldn't sound repetitive, and I've been trying to knock it down since. I finally got past it though, after months. ;A;<p>

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><p><em><strong>Anyways, to make up for my absence, I made omakes! *sarcastic cheering* I also figured that you guys can request something from me, though please don't make it to difficult. It can be a oneshot, something you'd like to see integrated into the story, or anything else you can think of. Note that I may not be able to fulfill your request completely depending on what it is, but I'll at least try. You could also ask to see sketches of some of the original characters, different fights, or canon characters if you want, but please remember that my drawing skills aren't in any way perfect, or above amateur level. <strong>_**OTL**

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><p>Really, I'm so sorry about my absence though.<p>

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><p>Omake #1: The Sun, Mists, and Cloud<p>

Reborn stepped out of Tsuna's house, which was currently vacant of everyone besides Giannini, the dimension-jumping bazooka in hand. Despite his words and what Giannini thought, he really was worried about his student, and wasn't acting on the simple fact that it would make the brunette's life harder. At least not completely.

Walking towards Namimori, he soon heard a large commotion coming from the school, despite the fact that it had ended over half an hour ago. Reaching the gates, Reborn looked upwards towards the roof, and saw four figures, which he easily recognized. Smirking, Reborn walked over to the sign labeling the school as Namimori Middle School, and with a quick flick of his hand, it lifted to reveal one of his many secret hideouts in the school. Hopping in, the sign closed again, and Reborn pushed a few buttons before he felt the small space lurch, slightly crammed with the bazooka also taking up room.

He didn't have to wait long though before it opened again, and this time Reborn stepped out from a vent that was at the roof. Stepping away, he jumped on top of the small structure that held the stairwell and looked at the people occupying the area. Sure enough, Hibari was glaring fiercely at a smirking Mukuro, the two exchanging rapid blows. Off to the side, Chrome watched in slight panic, while Ryohei stood beside her, yelling at the two to stop and settle this with a proper boxing match, but he was of course ignored.

Holding out his hand, Leon crawled onto it and transformed into an air horn. Pushing down on it, the extremely loud sound sliced through the sounds of fighting, and Mukuro and Hibari froze in mid-swing, one pair of eyes looking in the noise's direction curiously, while the other one held a murderous glare. They both looked slightly surprised though to see the Sun Arcobaleno standing there, and Ryohei and Chrome even more so.

"Baby, what are you doing here?" Hibari asked, clearly impatient to get back to the fight, but he knew better than to ignore the Arcobaleno, and instead waited.

"Just completing a task," the hitman responded, raising the bazooka and quickly pulling the trigger. A missile shot out and slammed into the ground, exploding into a cloud of black smoke.

"Take care of Dame-Tsuna," he smirked as the smoke engulfed the four teens. When it finally blew away, the group was gone, leaving without a trace, and Reborn let Leon transform into a hang glider before running off the roof, the wind carrying them back to Tsuna's house.

"I just hope you'll be enough," he added to himself, smirk dropping as a slight frown took over.

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><p>Omake #2: Varia<p>

Reborn knocked on the future Varia's door loudly. He had recently taken a plane ride from Japan to his home country of Italy, and had walked to the Varia's mansion, before shooting himself with Lambo's bazooka, something he had taken from the cow before shipping him off on that cruise. Now he stood in the future, awaiting an answer to his knock. Instead of someone opening the door though, he had to jump to the side as a large amount of sky flames tore open the doors.

The wood smoking, Reborn stepped through the now ruined doorway, raising an eyebrow at the irritated Xanxus that greeted him.

"Ciaossu, Xanxus. Call a meeting, would you?"

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><p>A few minutes of yelling, explosions, and fighting later, the ten year later Varia was gathered in their meeting room, all looking at the infant hitman. The group included Xanxus, Squalo, Lussuria, Leviathan, Belphegor, Fran, and now Mammon, as the Arcobaleno were alive in this timeline since Tsuna defeated Byakuran and thus eliminated the use of the non-tri-ni-sette. Reborn had already dropped a rock note into a new portal function Giannini had added to the dimension jumping bazooka, and he just had to wait for the right moment to send him and the others over, thus they were merely sitting there in silence.<p>

"Reborn, what do you want?" Mammon finally asked, clear irritation in his voice. Reborn smirked, and counted down in his head to the right time, before replying.

"Nothing much, but you'll be taking an extended vacation as of right now."

A bazooka was taken out from wherever Reborn managed to keep the weaponry, and a shot fired right at Xanxus. Squalo quickly reacted, blocking it with his sword, but it merely exploded into a mass of black smoke that engulfed the whole room, Reborn along with it. He heard shouts coming from the group, but he ignored them.

"Better brace yourself, Dame-Tsuna."

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><p>So, that was a look into what happened with the other two transports for those we didn't see. =w= And again, feel free to request something of me like I said above. I need to make up for my absence somehow, beyond omakes. ;A;<p>

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><p><em><strong>Again, please don't kill me, but I'm restarting the poll. I realized how unfair it is that some of the pairings were added in later on, so it wouldn't be fully accurate, so all votes in either the poll or reviews are being reset. Please, if you can, vote again. I'm really sorry, I'm just trying to make it fair. OTL<strong>_

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><p>Beyond that though, I'll see you all next chapter. Ciao!<p>

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><p>13animenurd13: Haha, it's Reborn, so of course he'll know. xD And yes, there will be. Feel free to vote!<p>

Yume Li: Thank you for the vote. Yours won't be reset as it was a vote from the last chapter, so don't worry about re-voting.

icefox94: Sorry about that. OTL I think I might end in small cliffhangers a bit too often. ;A; Ah, and I didn't get around to putting Aquarius in. Again, sorry. OTL I'm happy you were able to enjoy the last two fights though. :3 Ah, and it was supposed to be Reborn first. ^^' I've never really seen Tsuna as being a seme in any malexmale pairing, now that I think about it. ._.

TatsuyaGoldWolf123: Ah, that would have been pretty good to follow, but I kind of varied. OTL And I'll see about Gray's battle next, but I might be saving that one until later. ^^' And thank you for asking me about my updates! It helped to motivate me enough to finally break down my writing wall. =w=

Dreamless-Sleep777: Haha, Ryohei is rather amusing in that way. xD

BrokenBlackCat: Crap, I forgot to put in the blood craze. ._. *sobs* But, but, do spirit's even bleed? ;A; I agree that Ryohei really shouldn't be up against illusions. He's much too dense to figure them out. OTL Haha, and I felt that Wendy would be able to fight pretty well if she tried to. :3

Brilliant Comet: It's more over I can't decide myself. OTL And your vote will be counted, so don't worry about re-voting. :3 God, I feel so stupid for having to do that in the first place.

5stareader: Ah, sorry it took me so long to get out! I hope it was at least somewhat enjoyable though. OTL

Eagle. : Ah, it's fine! But yeah, you can't vote no. Sorry about that. ^^' Your vote has been counted though, and don't worry about the reset thingy.

OBSERVER01: Haha, I wanted to at least give him a bit of a chance, but yeah, he would end up losing either way. ^^'

VongolaHermit: Yeah, Reborn is definitely one to mess with the battles whenever he can. =w= I hope I'll be able to surprise you with the outcomes though. Ah, and I'm sorry you don't like pairings. D: They'll probably be put in though, but it should be on the down side still. I'll put a vote in for no pairing from you. I'm sorry if I don't make the story enjoyable for you anymore though. OTL

alkizor: Alright, your votes for Wendy and Chrome have been counted, and don't worry about the reset. Your votes are being kept. =w=

Wheatscuits: Ah, yeah, I noticed that I made the KHR characters too strong, but I figured it was mainly first them being too surprised by Tsuna's changing 'magic', and then later Natsu really wouldn't want to fight against Tsuna like that. I'm trying to fix it through the tournament though. OTL Erm, is the fangirling a good thing? And I'll try to add a bit more humour, but no promises. I'm not exactly the best at it. ._. Haha, I'll try to make more Hibari fangirling available. ^^ Yeah, I just wasn't sure how Gokudera's flames integrate into the new Vongola gear, so I wasn't able to explore them fully like with his skull canon. And I wanted to give Ryohei at least a bit of a chance, as he is then next sun guardian, but Mammon wasn't really his full strength either, which is why Ryohei lasted as long as he did. Ah, and I'll keep trying to keep everything as accurate as I can. Thank you for pointing this all out though! *bows*

givemehugs54: Ah, thank you! And your vote has been counted, so don't worry about voting again for the reset. :3

RawrxSushi: All I can say is thank you! Your review left a huge smile on my face for the next five minutes, literally, and I was often laughing. Haha, I'm happy to know that I was able to describe the characters well, and that you're happy with the appearance of Squalo, Bel, and Fran. =w= And with the time it's taken me to update, I think they've killed me multiple times. OTL I hope you enjoyed the fight though. ^^'

zZzZzZz: Ah, thank you! I love you to, reviewer. -w-

SmileRen: I'm sorry for the really late update. OTL And your vote has been recorded! Don't worry about the revote. :3

Xnameless1711X: I'm a terrible updater lately, but I hope the battle was still okay. OTL


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